CHARLES N'ZOGBIA has spoken of his relief after finally ending his international exile and is confident Newcastle United can make him a permanent fixture in the French set-up.

After earning his first cap for France Under-21s in last week's 1-0 win over Wales, N'Zogbia is expected to earn his second in Malta tonight.

And, given how he turned 21 earlier this year, it would normally be surprising for one of the bright young talents in the English game to wait so long for his international bow.

But Newcastle's left-back is of the opinion that he has had to wait for his chance because his former club, Le Havre, had persuaded the French FA not to select him.

Le Havre's problem stemmed from the way N'Zogbia opted to move to St James' Park three years ago on a free transfer - when Le Havre claimed that they had the player tied down to an educational contract.

The transfer eventually had to be resolved through the Court of Arbitration for Sport and Newcastle were forced to pay £250,000.

"Le Havre wasted two or three years for me, preventing me from playing with the national teams," he said.

"But that made me stronger and I just want to forget about it. I had no contact from France and I was upset about it. But the people at Newcastle reassured me and told me that the call would come. I was so pleased when that proved to be the case.

"Wearing the French shirt made me so proud against Wales and it was good that I was able to have a chance to show what I can do to people in my own country.''