New £8m Sunderland defender out to prove Chelsea wrong

The 27-year-old became manager David Moyes’ first signing after moving to Wearside on a four-year deal from Chelsea.

The Senegalese international didn’t play in the Premier League for the Blues after joining them for £2.7million last summer, with Djilobodji only featuring briefly in one League Cup tie.

But Djilobodji, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Werder Bremen, is now determined to prove his worth in the top flight.

“At the end of the season, they wanted me to stay but I was on loan and I wanted to return to England,” Djilobodji told L’Equipe.

“It’s the best league in the world - I want to show something there.

“I just want to show that I’m still here - that I’ve matured too.

“Because there are plenty of people who say that I wasn’t good enough for Chelsea.

“I want to show that I could have played, to enjoy myself and to please everyone.”

Despite only making one appearance for Chelsea, Djilobodji enjoyed his spell at Stamford Bridge, learning every day from some of the best players in the world.

“I trained, I returned home and I didn’t play,” he said.

“But I was training with the best players in the world -I learned a lot of things over there all the same.

“It was a good passage for me.

“I would have liked to have played more but if you’re not given the chance you can’t do anything.”