Chelsea defender Bashir Humphreys is proud to have made his first team debut last season.

Humphreys was handed his debut for the Chelsea in the FA Cup third-round tie against Manchester City. 

He told Chelsea’s official website: “Making my professional debut in a Chelsea shirt was an unbelievable experience.

“The game did not go how I would have hoped, but to be able to play in a Chelsea shirt in the FA Cup against a team like Manchester City is a huge blessing and that was a game that I will never forget.

“I was not expecting to play that day as Chelsea have so many good players, especially in my position. It taught me that I need to be prepared at all times because you really never know when your opportunity is going to come, so you have to be ready to take it.”

Humphreys joined SC Paderborn in Germany on loan in January for the rest of the season.

Asked how he adapted to playing in front of large crowds on a weekly basis while on loan, he added: “Playing in front of huge crowds gives you a feeling not many other things can. It is exhilarating. I am a player that really feeds off the energy and I like to engage with the crowd a lot. It is quite surreal to know that all those fans are turning up to watch you play and so I try not to take it for granted and just soak it in.

“Paderborn were also very big on fan engagement and so it was nice to see and speak to fans at the training ground and also after the games.”

Asked the biggest difference between the German professional game and playing in England, he said: “I think the biggest difference for me was more the step into professional football itself rather than it being in Germany, but I have to say that the football culture in Germany is elite, the fans will turn up no matter how bad their team is doing. There is non-stop chanting and drumming.

“Away games were always quite hostile and a lot of the stadiums were always filled so that was just a huge difference to most of my games playing for the Chelsea Under-21s which did not usually have too many fans there. I loved it and the Paderborn fans were always great, they welcomed me and made me feel at home there.”