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Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
The inside story of the teen sensation eager to wreck Celtic's £40m Champions League dream
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) DASTAN SATPAEV spent his 17th birthday helping Kairat Almaty secure a shot at a £40million Champions League jackpot against Celtic. He'll spend his 18th birthday at Stamford Bridge penning a life-changing contract with newly-crowned world champions Chelsea. 4 Chelsea-bound Dastan Satpaev in action for Kairat Almaty Credit: Alamy 4 Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where Celtic will take on Kairat Credit: Getty 4 Satpaev could go on to become the greatest talent to come from Kazakhstan Credit: Alamy The Kazakh kid - who will lead Kairat's attack against the Hoops at Parkhead next Wednesday night - has emerged as a teenage phenomenon. And despite his tender years, 5ft5in frontman Satpaev stands as the greatest danger to Celtic's return to the cash-rich league phase. Satpaev has already scored in all three qualifying rounds which the Kazakh champions have successfully navigated this summer. He became the youngest goalscorer in Champions League history with the opener against Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia last month. He repeated the feat in the second round as Kairat overturned a 2-0 first-leg deficit against Finnish champions KPS Kuopio. And the teenager held his nerve from the penalty spot to hand Kairat a first-leg advantage over Slovan Bratislava in the third qualifying round. Satpaev was replaced at half-time in extra-time in Slovakia on Tuesday night - but not before playing a key role in Kairat's progress to the play-off. Barcelona's Ansu Fati may still hold the record as the youngest goalscorer in the group stages of European football's elite competition. But Satpaev is eyeing a place alongside the continent's elite after already securing a switch to join Cole Palmer and Co in London. Chelsea's worldwide scouting network targeted Satpaev long before this week's birthday and a £4million fee was agreed with Kairat. Rangers could soon be TEN points behind Celtic fears Kris Boyd - plus Plzen preview FIFA rules block the attacker from moving outside Kazakhstan until his 18th birthday - but nothing his stopped him from shaking up football in his homeland. Satpaev scored 27 goals and provided ten assists in just 28 games for Kairat's youth team in the 2023/24 campaign. It earned him a first-team debut aged just 15 as a late sub in a 9-0 Kazakh League Cup win over Akzhayik in May last year. He scored on his league bow against rivals Astana and has now contributed eight goals in 19 games as Kairat chase back to back league titles. They stand three points clear of Astana, who have a game in hand, and are eyeing success at home and abroad this season. Satpaev became the youngest debutant of all time for the Kazakhstan national team in a friendly match against Dick Advocaat's Curacao last March. He also starred in a World Cup qualifying defeat to Craig Bellamy's Wales at the Cardiff City Stadium just days later. Now he's eager to haul Kairat to the Champions League proper for the first time in the club's history - and show Chelsea fans what's coming their way. By strange coincidence, Kairat's Central Stadium even sits on Satpaev Street in Almaty, a city 4,600 miles from Glasgow and further east than parts of Pakistan. Prior to this season's unexpected run to the play-off round, the Kazakh title winners had only reached the Champions League on two previous occasions. They lost to Artmedia Bratislava in the first qualifying round in 2005 - before the Slovaks dumped Gordon Strachan's Celts. Four years ago, they beat Maccabi Haifa in the first qualifying round before being eliminated by Red Star Belgrade. One of their biggest Euro achievements until Satpaev showed up was beating Aberdeen in the Europa League third qualifying round a decade ago - before losing a play-off to Bordeaux. And their only adventure in a league phase came in the Conference League four years ago when their only points were gathered from two 0-0 draws against Omonia Nicosia. Now they head for Parkhead on Wednesday night - with the return close to the Chinese border - just six days later. It's a step into the unknown for Brendan Rodgers and his Champions League veterans. Keeping quiet the Kazakh kid could be key to Celtic's ambitions. 4 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Scottish Sun
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Chelsea-bound Kazakh wonderkid, 16, sends Celtic warning as shock 90th minute spot kick hints at gruelling Almaty trip
DASTAN SATPAEV is only 16 years old and is already regarded as the biggest footballing prospect to come out of Kazakhstan. He's already agreed to join Chelsea next summer - and he's just shown Celtic exactly why by scoring a nerveless last minute penalty as Kairat Almaty ran out shock 1-0 first leg winners against Slovan Bratislava. 4 Dastan Satpaev in action for Kazakhstan Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 4 Dastan Satpaev of Kazakhstan during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 4 Dastan Satpayev of Kairat Almaty looks a massive talent Credit: Alamy Celtic will take on the winners of this tie in the play-off round - with travel to Almaty a major obstacle to contend with. It was all too much for the Slovaks to take with midfielder Rahim Ibrahim send off just after the hour mark, then the Slovakian outfit's manager Vladimir Weiss sent off for protesting in the dying stages. The manager - son of Rangers star Vladimir, who also played in the match - was infuriated about the penalty award, given for a shirt tug in a crowded box by Danylo Ignatenko. But things could even have been worse for the Bratislava - with more magic from Satpaev leading to a disallowed 'goal' in the 96th minute, eventually ruled out for a line ball offside after a lengthy VAR intervention. More to follow. 4 Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
