Chelsea unveil trialist in first game under Xabi Alonso
Chelsea’s first goal of the Xabi Alonso era was scored by someone who doesn’t officially play for the club.
Dastan Satpayev got the Blues up and running in their opening pre-season friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers today in Sydney, which they won 6-4, but the 17-year-old is officially listed as a trialist.
That hasn’t stopped Alonso taking the Kazakhstan forward on Chelsea‘s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, as the former Real Madrid manager prepares for his first campaign in charge at Stamford Bridge.
Why Chelsea’s first goal under Xabi Alonso was scored by a trialist
The Blues have had an agreement in place to sign Satpayev from Kazakh side Kairat Almaty since February, with the teenager joining the squad for pre-season training earlier this month.
However, the transfer will not become official until he turns 18 on August 12, so he is not yet listed as a Chelsea player.
It means the Blues have had to find a workaround for Satpayev to play for them in pre-season, with his first outing for the club coming in a behind-closed-doors friendly against League Two side Crawley Town on July 18.
They have achieved that because the youngster meets the criteria of an international trialist, which allows him to represent Chelsea if he has permission from Kairat and his parents, and signs the required forms.
As a result, Alonso was able to include him in his 28-man travelling party for the Blues’ pre-season tour, ahead of his official arrival on a permanent deal which is reportedly worth £3.3m plus add-ons.
Satpayev opened the scoring inside six minutes at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, taking Ryan Kavuma-McQueen’s pass in his stride before firing home.
The wonderkid is an exciting prospect, having made his Kairat debut aged just 15 in May 2024 and played in the Champions League when he was only 16.
He scored against FC Copenhagen in the competition last season, 11 days after he opened his senior international account with a goal against Belgium in one of eight games he has already played for Kazakhstan.
Alonso claimed his first win as Chelsea boss in a 10-goal thriller in Sydney, with Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens on target either side of half-time before Joao Pedro struck a late hat-trick to seal victory.
The Blues face Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the same stadium on Saturday.
