Why did the alchemist befriend Santiago, even though he knew the Englishman was the one looking for him in Coelho's The Alchemist?

The
alchemist befriends Santiago because he knows that the young boy, unlike the Englishman,
understands the importance of having your own Personal Legend. The Englishman wants to be just
like the alchemist, but goes about it entirely the wrong way. He thinks that true wealth lies in
gold and that the best wayindeed the only wayto become like the alchemist is through reading the
right books and talking to the right people. The Englishman has set himself firmly on a path in
lifea false, inauthentic pathfrom which he can never deviate.

Santiago, on
the other hand, shows himself to be one with his surroundings. He's established a close and
intimate connection with his natural environment. Crucially, he also understands that the
material things of this world are not of ultimate importance. Because of this, he's able to
speak the universal language, which makes him the ideal pupil for the
alchemist.