Remember him? Jose Antonio Reyes moves to China’s second tier in restive Xinjiang region

He was touted as the next big thing when he joined Arsenal in 2004 and would later play for Real Madrid. On Wednesday, Jose Antonio Reyes signed for the bottom side in China’s second tier.

Now 34, the winger is swapping his native Spain for Xinjiang, a remote region in China’s far west where authorities are accused of religious repression of the predominantly Muslim population.

Reyes, who has 22 caps for Spain and joins on a reported free transfer from Cordoba in Spain’s second division, is in for a dogfight at his new club Xinjiang Tianshan Leopard.

The toothless Leopards have failed to win a game in 13 matches this season, scoring just four goals.

But they hope that Reyes, who never quite fulfilled high expectations at Arsenal after joining from Sevilla, could be the answer to their offensive problems.

Announcing his signing on Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter, the club said that the veteran star “will arrive in China in the near future and meet the team to compete in the remaining games of the season”.