5 days ago
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Talents Calendar
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In China, Xiangxin Wei went through a tough footballing school. And after training sessions, he would also add individual sessions. It worked out for the 17-year-old. This upcoming summer, Wei is headed to Europe. There, he will be a really unique player.
In March and April this year, wonderkid Wei set new milestones in the Chinese Super League. On matchday 2, he came off the bench for Meizhou Hakka, becoming one of the ten youngest players to play in China’s first division. That day, he was 16 years, 11 months, and 24 days old, and his 17th birthday was only a few weeks ago, when he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the history of the Chinese league.
“He is very disciplined and ambitious,” Transfermarkt data scout asaikana said about Meizhou’s talent. “He already stood out in the academy and is well known for his good positioning, physical strength, dribbling, and explosiveness. He is also 188cm tall, which makes him dangerous in the air, which is something he has been working on.” With that in mind, Wei has quickly become a hot prospect for big European clubs. Next summer, when he turns 18, he will move to France. There, he will join AJ Auxerre. The Ligue 1 club is struggling in the first division, which means Wei’s European career could start in the second division.
Wei: His coach withheld the top athlete certificate on purpose
Whether it is the first or second division in France, the move to Europe is a massive success for the teenager, something he had to work hard for in the academy. “We had some stringent rules,” Wei said in an interview in China. “Our breakfast was at 6 am. Anyone who missed it had to go for a run. Whoever didn’t put in a full shift at practice was kicked out and had to go running instead.” It is a rare insight into China’s talent development. But it isn’t all about discipline. “There is also a focus on creativity. We are learning opportunities to handle the ball and what options to pick on the field.”
One big obstacle Wei had to overcome was in the youth academy. Back in 2022, when he was already scoring goal after goal, his coach benched him and denied him a top athlete certificate, which is required to make the next step in his development to a top university. “My mother was very worried about this, and I was sad as well,” Wei said. “Back then, I had real doubts about whether I was good enough. The coach told me later he did it on purpose to make me work even harder.”
The strict measure worked. In the U15, Wei led Meizhou Hakka to the championship and received his certificate, and was voted the best player in the U15 league. Within a short time, he became a regular starter for China’s youth national teams and made The Guardian’s best talents in the world list as the only Chinese player.
Will Wei soon be the only Chinese player in Europe?
Then, in March, he made his first CSL appearance, scored his first goal, and, one month later, was invited to a trial with Auxerre. “When I was still playing for the academy, I often added an extra shift to the training sessions,” Wei said. “When the team trained in the morning, I added a couple of hours of training in the afternoon. Then in the evenings I would go to the gym and do weight training.”
With his move to France, he is helping out his country, as it has become rare for Chinese players to sign in Europe. Indeed, as things stand, Wei will be the only Chinese player to play in Europe when he makes the move next summer.
From December 1 to 24, we introduce new players from different countries born in 2008 and 2009. Area managers, users, and data scouts come into play as experts throughout the series. You can follow all those players by adding them to your TM watchlist.
