The 24-year-old defender moved from Dutch Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle to Chinese big-spenders Jiangsu Sainty on a lucrative three-year deal in January.

The transfer raised a lot of eyebrows in Australia but Sainsbury justified the switch as a chance to set up his family up for life.

Sainsbury put in a full shift in a 1-0 loss to Liaoning Whowin on Sunday as Jiangsu finished their league season as runners-up, qualifying for next season’s AFC Champions League (ACL) while a Chinese FA Cup final awaits later this month.

The Perth-born defender made 29 appearances in the 2016 CSL and reflected on his maiden campaign positively.

“I thought I handled the expectations well, coming up against some of the biggest names in world football, some expensive players,” Sainsbury told FourFourTwo.

“I held my own against them and even kept some in my back pocket, so I’m happy with that.

“Cultural wise, it’s a great learning experience for myself, so I’m happy I took up the offer and came across.

“I don’t regret it one bit.”

Sainsbury came up against some of world football’s best forwards this term with big money spent in China recruiting top names.

Among the opponents were Ezequiel Lavezzi, Asamoah Gyan, Papiss Cisse, Obafemi Martins, Demba Ba, Graziano Pelle and Hulk, but Sainsbury rated a team-mate as the toughest.

“Funnily enough it would be one of my own team-mates, Alex Teixeira,” Sainsbury said.

“I hate playing against him in training games, he is actually what I’d consider the best player I’ve played with. It’s ridiculous how good of a player he is.

“But it’s always a challenge. You’ve always got to watch the video and analyse who you’re coming up against.

“In the end, the main point is they’re deadly in the box. It keeps you on your toes every game.”

The domestic season of Sainsbury, who was called up this week in the Socceroos squad to face Thailand on 15 November, isn’t over yet, with the Chinese FA Cup final to be played over two legs against Guangzhou Evergrande on 20 and 27 November.

That pending cup final will ensure Sainsbury remains fit in the lead-up to the Socceroos clash in Bangkok.

“It’s good for me, I’ll be keeping fit and fresh,” Sainsbury said.

“I think it’s been a successful season (at Jiangsu) but the season review will be heavily influence by the outcome of the cup final.

Trent Sainsbury in action against UAE in World Cup qualifying

“A win there and we’ll see it as a massive success. A loss and you can say it’s a success, but bittersweet.

“Of course, the club’s expectations will rise now with the success of the team.”

As for the World Cup qualifier in Thailand, Sainsbury admitted it would be a crucial three points following back-to-back draws.

“This is definitely one of those games where we can’t afford to drop points,” Sainsbury said.

“We need to win against the lesser teams in the group.

“After two hard-earned draws in Saudi and Japan, we could’ve got more points from both games but that’s football.

“We go into this game still full of confidence, knowing we’re going to play our way and get three points.”