Djite, 24, played 14 games with the CSL outfit after leaving Gold Coast United at the end of the last A-League.

Speaking on ABC Radio Australia’s Four Diegos World Football Weekly (www.fourdiegos.com), Djite said he was impressed with the vast sums of money being pumped into the CSL.

But the A-League’s salary cap has spread the quality of the Australian competition across the league and this he feels has given the local league an edge overall.

“The top eight, nine teams in the top half of the CSL are very strong. Teams like Shanghai, Shandong, Beijing, these are big powerful clubs are very strong and they are investing a lot of money,” he said.

“As an example, Guangzhou invested $10m in an Argentine player. There are no A-League clubs throwing that sort of money around.”

The US-born Djite also praised the Chinese authorities for their diligent cleaning up of offenders after match-fixing allegations had clouded Chinese football. He’d even consider a return to China’s Super League one day.

 “The level of the league [in China] is actually quite good,” the Socceroo added.

“The top half of the CSL is full of strong teams but I do think though in all honesty that the A-League is at a higher level.

“I don’t think there are easy games in China, but there are easier games,” he said.

Djite also revealed Adelaide were interested in signing him last season but the uncertain situation with the ownership of the Reds made it more difficult for them to sign him.

He subsequently signed with Gold Coast United but showed his true colours by not celebrating when he scored against the Reds in last season’s finals, a goal which helped knock Rini Coolen’s side out of the play-offs.

“I’d decided if it was a finals game or just in the regular season I wasn’t going to celebrate if I scored against Adelaide.

“It’s a club that did give me my start in professional football and you can’t forget where you came from. I still kept the fans close to my heart.”

Djite added: “I’m a Sydney boy but Adelaide has really warmed to me and it’s pretty enjoyable to be back in some pretty familiar surroundings.”

The former Genclerbirligi and AIS striker has been joined by an impressive cast of new recruits at Hindmarsh, including Jon McKain, Spase Dilevski, Ukrainian Evgeniy Levchenko and his former Gold Coast team-mate, Zenon Caravella.

The Socceroo striker said if ever a player was suited to playing in South Australia, it was Caravella.

The 27-year-old midfield dynamo is a wine wholesaler selling SA wines to Queensland. He has reportedly sold wine to Olivia Newton-John among others. Caravella even has his own family label of wines called “Concerto”.

 “I told him he’d fit in fantastic there [in Adelaide], you’ll love the city and in relation to your wine-tasting and all of that – he sells his own wine as well – then you’re going to love McLaren Vale  and the Barossa,” said Djite with a smile.

“The first day I got to training he was like, ‘Bruce, you been to the Barossa?’ And I’d never been and he said ‘mate, I’d live up there if I could’.

“He’s settled in really well.”