Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti was pleased to make his Lecce debut last week.

Umtiti started in defeat to Roma.

He said, “I felt great emotions, I'm proud of the game I played, after so many months in which I worked hard to catch up with my teammates."

“Serie A is really very different from the Spanish league, it is much more physical and very tactical. I am adapting to a different game, but this also allows me to discover a new way of playing.

“The tactical and technical level is very high, but we have the qualities to do well in this league and play our part.

“In this moment of my life it is important to play again, to feel valued and important in this team and to reach my goal with Lecce. With the national team I wrote beautiful pages of my career, but right now I'm only thinking about Lecce and doing well with this shirt."

On Lecce's fans, Umtiti also said: “The welcome I got was extraordinary. I was happy to share that moment with the fans, it gave me an incredible energy charge and I felt immediately considered.

“I now want to regain the form I had three years ago, my late return is due to the search for the best possible form, because I want to make an important contribution to this team."