Auxerre Signs Chinese Teen Talent Wei Xiangxin on Five-Year Deal

AJ Auxerre have made a bold move for the future, tying down Chinese teenager Wei Xiangxin on a five-year deal that underlines both the club’s long-term planning and the growing reach of their scouting network.

Wei, 18, joins the Ligue 1 side after turning professional with the club he has effectively been linked to for months. Auxerre, who finished 15th out of 18 in France’s top flight last season and only just dodged the relegation play-offs, have handed the forward the No. 49 shirt and, with it, a clear signal that he is part of their rebuild.

“AJ Auxerre is very proud to announce the arrival of Xiangxin Wei. A great hope of Chinese football, he has signed a five-year contract and will wear number 49,” the club declared in their announcement, framing the move as an investment in potential rather than a quick fix.

From Guangdong to Burgundy

This transfer did not come out of nowhere. Auxerre had already flagged their intentions last November, when they revealed an agreement with Chinese Super League side Meizhou Hakka. The deal was straightforward: once the Guangdong-born forward turned 18, he would sign his first professional contract in France.

Wei had already spent three weeks on trial at Auxerre last year, enough time for the club to decide he was worth a tailored development plan. In a statement at the time, they spoke of building long-term training programs around his specific characteristics and needs, with the expectation that he could push on to “higher career goals” in the years ahead.

The raw numbers hint at why Auxerre were prepared to commit. For China’s under-17 national team, Wei struck nine goals in just 12 appearances between 2024 and 2025, a return that marks him out as one of the more eye-catching attacking prospects of his age group in Chinese football.

Modest Club Record, Big International Promise

His senior club résumé, by contrast, is still modest. Across two seasons with Meizhou Hakka, spanning two different tiers of Chinese football, Wei managed one goal in 28 appearances. Meizhou’s struggles did not help: the club slid out of the Chinese Super League last November after winning only five of 30 league matches, dropping into China League One.

He did add another goal in this year’s Chinese FA Cup, but this is not the profile of a ready-made star. It is the profile of a teenager stepping out of a difficult team environment and into a club that believes it can refine his game.

That is where Auxerre’s gamble lies. A side that flirted with the drop last season is betting that an 18-year-old with a sharp youth international record and limited senior output can grow into a genuine attacking option in one of Europe’s major leagues.

A Long-Term Play in a Survival Battle

Auxerre’s situation gives the move an edge. A club that only just avoided the relegation play-offs cannot afford too many missteps in recruitment. Yet they have still chosen to think five years ahead with Wei, not five months.

The plan is clear: integrate him carefully, shape him through a tailored program, and see whether the instinctive finishing he showed for China’s under-17s can translate to the far more unforgiving rhythms of Ligue 1.

For Wei, the leap is enormous. From a relegated Meizhou Hakka side in China to a French club fighting to stabilise in the top division, the margins will be thinner, the defenders quicker, the scrutiny sharper.

But Auxerre have nailed their colours to the mast with this contract. They are not just signing a prospect; they are staking part of their future on the idea that this “great hope of Chinese football” can grow into something more than a tagline.