Chelsea's women win battle to sign Australian football icon Sam Kerr

The Chelsea Women's team have beaten a host of top European clubs to the signing of Australian striker, Sam Kerr on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The signing proved to be a major achievement for Emma Hayes and her team. The 26-year-old forward had announced that she would not be returning to Perth Glory in the Australian W-League before she signed for Chelsea. Sam said that the English WSL is the best in the world and "I feel Chelsea have been building something special over the years and I want to be a part of that – I want to lift some trophies".

'Chelsea pulls off a major coup'

However, her move to Chelsea was delayed by an entire season since the Football Federation of Australia awarded the first female marquee player status to Kerr before the start of the 2018-19 season and the FIFA World Cup. 

Emma Hayes stated that Sam had time and again proved herself by establishing herself as one of the best goal scorers in NWSL. Hayes further added that Sam had proved herself to be a player who can make things happen alongside being an amazing team player. Hayes was of the opinion that Chelsa is the best place for 26-year-old forward to grow and a perfect stepping stone for the next chapter in her professional career.

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A perfect addition to Chelsea's frontline

However, Chelsea missed out on the Champions League and are on due course to qualify for the next season's tournament as they are perched on top of the league standings. This opportunity will give Kerr the chance to compete with the likes of Ada Hegererg, the current female Ballon d'Or winner and the Champions League all-time top scorer. The striker will be supported by Erin Cuthbert, Beth England, and Fran Kirby on the frontline apart from Ramona Bachmann.

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Sam Kerr has won a total of 5 consecutive golden boots across the NSWL and the W-League and also holds the title of the top scorer in both the leagues with 69 and 70 goals. She also holds the record for scoring the maximum number of goals in a single season in both the leagues alongside netting the most goals in a single NSWL match and the quickest W-league hattrick. Kerr also netted 5 goals at this year's World Cup, including 4 goals in a single match against Jamaica.

She also helped her previous team, Red Stars, to the second place in the NSW and also netted the only goal in their win against Portland Thorns in order to reach the Championship play-off final, which they lost 4-0 to North Carolina Courage.

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