Top News

Chelsea took on Western Sydney Wanderers in their first match under Xabi Alonso

Chelsea’s first goal of the Xabi Alonso era came from a player who is not officially part of the club.

Dastan Satpayev put the Blues in motion in their opening pre-season friendly against Western Sydney Wanderers today in Sydney, a game they won 6-4, even though the 17-year-old is officially registered as a trialist.

That has not stopped Alonso from taking the Kazakhstan forward on Chelsea’s pre-season tour of Australia and Asia, as the former Real Madrid manager gets ready for his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have had an agreement in place to sign Satpayev from Kazakh club Kairat Almaty since February, and the teenager joined the squad for pre-season training earlier this month.

Even so, the transfer will only become official once he turns 18 on August 12, which means he is not yet listed as a Chelsea player.

That has forced Chelsea to find a way around the issue so Satpayev can feature in pre-season, with his first appearance for the club coming in a behind-closed-doors friendly against League Two side Crawley Town on July 18.

They have managed that because the youngster qualifies as an international trialist, which allows him to play for Chelsea if he has permission from Kairat and his parents, and signs the necessary forms.

The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.

Because of that, Alonso was able to name him in his 28-man travelling squad for the Blues’ pre-season tour, before his official move on a permanent deal that is reportedly worth £3.3m plus add-ons.

Satpayev opened the scoring inside six minutes at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, controlling Ryan Kavuma-McQueen’s pass before finishing clinically.

The wonderkid is regarded as a major prospect, having made his Kairat debut at only 15 in May 2024 and gone on to play in the Champions League when he was just 16.

He scored against FC Copenhagen in the competition last season, 11 days after he got off the mark at senior international level with a goal against Belgium in one of the eight matches he has already played for Kazakhstan.

Alonso celebrated his first win as Chelsea manager in a 10-goal thriller in Sydney, with Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens scoring on either side of half-time before Joao Pedro hit a late hat-trick to complete the victory.

The Blues now meet Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the same stadium on Saturday.

Please follow our community guidelines.