French striker Djibril Cisse has said he is looking forward to a return to the English Premier League, saying it will give him the chance to prove he is still a big-game player.
Last month Cisse's agent revealed that the 26-year-old was in talks with a number of Premier League clubs, with Bolton and Manchester City appearing as early front-runners for his signature.
Despite a solid season with French giants Marseille, Cisse says he would feel more at home with a return to England.
‘It's my wish now to be back in England,’ he told The Observer on Sunday.
‘I had a good time in Marseille, but I really want to come back. My wife is from Wales and my family is here, but the main thing is the league.
‘I think I am more of an English football type, I think it suits me better.’
Cisse moved to Anfield in 2004 - winning a Champions League medal with Liverpool a season later - but failed to make an impression at the club, scoring 15 times in two injury-plagued seasons.
But a resurgence in form at new club Marseille, which saw him netting 16 times last season, has given him the confidence to fancy a return to England and prove his detractors wrong.
‘I think if you are quick and strong - physically and mentally - you can do something in England.
‘I want to prove to everybody that I am a good player and I can do good things.’
Cisse, who was last month left out of his country's squad for Euro 2008 after coach Raymond Domenech opted instead for the younger Bafetimbi Gomis, said his country would face an uphill struggle in Group C.
‘Romania first, Italy and Holland, I think it's the hardest group,' said Cisse.
‘But we have a good team, a good squad. It's complete, because between the 11 players and the ones on the bench there is not a lot of difference.
‘A team has to be complete, when the guys on the bench come in you don't have to see a difference. This is France's strength.’
Commenting on recent criticisms about France's team being too old to mount a realistic challenge in Austria and Switzerland, Cisse was adamant.
‘Are we too old? No. We have a few young players who play in the big clubs. Players from Lyon, my little boy Samir (Nasri), and Lassana Diarra is still young, but he played in Arsenal and Chelsea and has experience.
‘I think it's a good mix between the more experienced and the young. Another striker might have made it better still.’
