Much attention will focus on 17-year-old striker Dastan Satpaev, who has five caps for Kazakhstan and is set to join Chelsea in a £4m move next summer.
Chelsea scouts spotted Satpaev starring for Kairat’s Under-17 team as they won the Helvetia Cup in Switzerland against teams including Paris St-Germain and Marseille.
Talks began soon after and were finalised in February 2025, which could lead him to become the first Kazakh to play in the Premier League.
Satpaev also had a two-week trial at Cobham training centre, where he took photos with Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Christopher Nkunku and club legend John Terry.
Club president Boranbayev told the Russian-language documentary Nobel that Satpaev played in a behind-closed-doors under-21 friendly, scoring a hat-trick and adding an assist.
In the same film, Satpaev acknowledged interest from Zenit St Petersburg, Real Sociedad, Benfica, Salzburg and Marseille, and club officials said they had rival offers from Benfica and Hoffenheim. There is also a clip of a former youth coach saying he scored 54 goals in 19 league games during the 2021 academy season.
Satpaev already speaks some English having anticipated a move to Europe, learning even before Chelsea’s approach, and one of his parents is expected to accompany him to London.
In the meantime, Kairat and Chelsea have an arrangement to support Satpaev while he remains in Kazakhstan, with Blues scouts providing feedback during his final season at his boyhood club. They will have been impressed with his 12 goals and seven assists in 26 domestic matches this season.
Satpaev is a fast striker, often compared by team-mates to Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero. He became the second-youngest goalscorer in Champions League qualifying history by netting against Olimpija Ljubljana at 16 years, 10 months and 26 days old.
In his first UK interview with BBC Sport, Satpaev said: “As a child, I loved football and often played with boys older than me with my brother’s friends. My parents worried I’d get injured, as I played on sandy and rocky pitches against bigger boys.
“We only took breaks to drink juice. Others noticed my speed, and eventually my grandfather suggested I take trials at Kairat, where my career began.
“Kairat greatly supported me with its infrastructure, coaches and player development approach. It also helped me become mentally strong, stay focused, and embrace hard work from an early age.
“We performed well at international youth tournaments, which attracted an offer from a club like Chelsea.”
When discussing Satpaev, people quickly mention his work ethic. Having managed him at youth and senior levels, Urazbakhtin explained: “We had to forbid him from training.
“He was always sneaking out into the gym or back on to the pitches after sessions. We’d laugh because [we would] see him practising in the dark through the window and we had to tell him to stop, but he now understands the importance of recovery.”
Satpaev is a reluctant poster boy for Kazakh football.
“God willing, my ambition is to become a professional football player who is competitive at the European level, to show that Kazakhstan also has many talented players, and never to stop after what I’ve already achieved,” he added.
“I want to never give up, continue working hard and reach my goals.”
