Dastan Satpayev has a "very good chance" of making it at Chelsea, according to the teenager's former manager at Kairat, who claims the new Blues forward is "stronger" and "faster" than Liam Delap.
Rafael Urazbakhtin, who coached Satpayev in Kazakhstan, has spoken highly of the 17-year-old after his eye-catching debut performance against Sydney Wanderers. The forward opened the scoring after just six minutes at the Accor Stadium and impressed throughout the pre-season friendly.
Alonso impressed by Satpayev
Xabi Alonso had seen enough promise in Satpayev's training displays to hand him a starting spot against Sydney Wanderers. The Chelsea boss later revealed he already knew the youngster from his time in Almaty.
"I knew Dastan from Almaty. He is a ball threat, he attacks the inner channel well and is good as a striker coming from the outside," Alonso said before the loss to Tottenham. "He is really strong, really quick and I have been really impressed with him."
Satpayev also appeared as a second-half substitute in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat to bitter rivals Tottenham, replacing goalscorer Estevao with 20 minutes remaining.
Former boss backs teenager over Delap
Satpayev signed for Chelsea from Kairat in February 2025 for a reported fee of around €4million (£3.4million), but only joined up with his new teammates this summer because international transfers cannot be completed until a player turns 18.
In an interview with Sports.ru, Urazbakhtin explained that Chelsea's plan for Satpayev was always to keep him at the club and give him playing time to adapt.
"Dastan has a very good chance of establishing himself in the team," Urazbakhtin said. "When we went to Chelsea and stayed there for training, we spoke with the scouting department. Of course, this was before Alonso, but their plan was that Dastan would stay at Chelsea no matter what, and they would give him playing time to help him adapt."
Urazbakhtin believes Satpayev's arrival could threaten Delap's minutes, arguing the youngster is the better all-round option.
"They have a striker, Delap. In my opinion, Dastan is stronger. He's younger, faster," he added. "Delap may have more experience – he's played in the Championship and the Premier League. However, Dastan is faster, more resilient, and more versatile."
"Delap, for example, is a pure forward. I'd prefer Dastan to Delap."
Debut goal a confidence boost
Urazbakhtin was delighted with Satpayev's display against Sydney Wanderers, saying the early goal will help both player and coaching staff.
"He showed his worth from the first minute," he said. "This goal will boost Dastan's confidence and the confidence of the coaching staff. We listened to Alonso's press conference – he spoke very highly of his performance."
