Brice Dja Djedje: 'Watford treat me like a dog'

Watford defender Brice Dja Djedje has launched a scathing attack on the club, accusing them of treating him "like a dog" during his time at Vicarage Road.

The 26-year-old joined on a £3m deal from Marseille in the summer of 2016 but was sidelined by a foot injury, making just two appearances in the FA Cup during his debut campaign.

Speaking to L'Equipe, Dja Djedje claims that he returned to the club in pre-season but then learned in a newspaper that he would be not part of new manager Marco Silva's plans until January at the earliest.

"I don't understand at all. They make their choice but it hurts because I cannot do my job," he said. "It is starting to become unbearable. To discover this kind of decision in the press is incredible. There are lines you should not cross. It comes to the time when you cannot keep quiet. I have been treated like a dog.

"I am not happy here. The fact that I train all week then I am on the sofa at the weekend is horrible. It is not because that they pay me every month that I can accept everything. Otherwise, it would mean I don't care. I have been stopped from practicing the trade that I love for two years without explanation. I cannot carry on like this. Everyone ask why I am not playing – people think i am injured but it is totally false.

"The reserve goalkeeper (Costel Pantilimon) was injured for three weeks and the club decided to include a fourth goalkeeper rather than me when I was fit. Inexplicable! I have had no explanation. The same last season.

"Before signing me, they knew that I had injured my foot playing for the national side. But Walter Mazzarri insisted, he really wanted that I sign for Watford. He had told me how he wanted to play, he counted on using me and, above all, he knew very well I was injured because we had discussed it. The doctor at Marseille had given instructions to Watford but they wanted that I returned earlier and that is what aggravated the injury."

"I have to leave. Either on loan or permanently. I want to rediscover the taste of competition. I have been ready since last December and I cannot wait any longer. What is crazy is that clubs asked Watford this summer for a loan but they refused."

Dja Djedje spent eight years as part of the Paris Saint-Germain youth setup and got his first taste of league football with Evian before moving to Marseille in 2014.