Théo De Percin: Auxerre's Promising Shot-Stopper

It was a dream performance for De Percin, who came up through AJA's youth academy, which he joined in 2014. After seven years in the youth ranks of the club, the goalkeeper cracked the first team in 2021. 

He made his professional debut for Auxerre on December 18, 2021, in a 3–1 Coupe de France loss to Lille. Most of his professional career has been spent with the club's B team, where he has made 38 appearances.

Despite only making eight appearances for the senior squad, Auxerre have high hopes for De Percin after signing him to a contract extension last year, keeping him at the club until 2026.

This season, AJA has counted on De Percin, who has started in back-to-back Ligue 1 McDonald’s matches to start 2025. Although he didn't play in the first half of the season, the goalkeeper has managed the challenges well.

After conceding three goals against RC Strasbourg in his season debut, De Percin bounced back with a clean sheet against Lille. His performance against Les Dogues didn't come as a surprise to Christophe Pélissier, who praised the goalkeeper's progress during a post-match press conference.

"I'm really happy for Théo. This is my third season at Auxerre, and I've seen him improve a lot. I have to give a lot of credit to our goalkeeper coach. He's done a great job developing all our goalkeepers, not just our No. 1. [On Friday night], Théo earned us a point, whereas last week, we hoped to give him a win in his first Ligue 1 match in Strasbourg, but we ended up losing."

Although his start against Strasbourg didn’t go as hoped, De Percin showed the right mindset to move on and deliver a strong performance against Lille.

“On the penalty I saved, I just trusted my instincts and anticipated well. I train every day to be ready for moments like that. After stopping Benjamin André’s shot, I felt like my game had truly started. We’re a team that sticks together—that’s part of who we are. This positive result is a reward for everyone, especially against a Champions League-caliber opponent. We’re happy to come away with a point from this draw.”

De Percin is not only a promising talent for Auxerre but also for the Martinique national team. Although born in Tarbes, France, he has Martiniquais roots and made his debut for Martinique in a 2–1 loss to Panama at the CONCACAF Gold Cup on June 30, 2023.

Even though De Percin has one appearance for the Martinique national team, that didn't stop manager Thierry Henry from having the AJA goalkeeper as a reserve player for the French team at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

If De Percin keeps up the form he showed against Lille, the Martinique national team could call him up for their matchup against Suriname during the March FIFA break. The winner of that matchup will secure a spot in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup next summer.

READ MORE:

>>Recap: Théo De Percin's Heroics Aid AJA in Draw vs. Lille
>>Gaëtan Perrin: From Non-league to Ligue 1 stardom with Auxerre