Matildas superstar Sam Kerr believes moving to English giants Chelsea will help her game reach new heights.
Kerr ended weeks of speculation by signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with the FA Women’s Super League outfit who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.
Chelsea are coached by the highly-respected Emma Hayes and the 26-year-old striker is excited by the challenge of helping her new club get back to the top after a disappointing 2018/19 season where they finished third and missed out on Europe.
“It’s exciting, I wanted to come to the club and Emma gained my trust pretty quickly,” Kerr told Chelsea’s official website.
“The main reason for me was to better myself and expand my knowledge.
“I felt like Chelsea was the right fit for me and I want to help them do something great.
“It appealed to me that there is a challenge ahead like qualifying for the Champions League. Unfortunately they didn’t do it last year so hopefully things can change this year.”
Kerr is ineligible to play until the European transfer window opens in January and could make her debut against Reading five days into the new year.
The Matildas skipper had been weighing up her club future since opting against returning to the W-League and Perth Glory.
She’d been splitting her time each year between the Glory from October to April, then the Chicago Red Stars in the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League from April to September.
In joining a league which recently secured a groundbreaking STG10 million ($A19 million) three-year sponsorship deal with Barclays, Kerr will play with and against some of the best players in the world game week in week out.
South Korean playmaker Ji So-yun and England striker Fran Kirby will become her new teammates and among those she’ll come up against are Arsenal’s Dutch star striker Vivianne Miedema and Manchester City’s Ellen White – the joint top scorer at this year’s World Cup in France.
“Clubs like this are the biggest clubs in the world so it’s an exciting change but also a nerve-wracking change,” she said.
“I’m definitely excited to play with Ji, I’ve played against her a lot of times.
“Obviously Fran Kirby is a big name, but they are all big names.
“They play in great national teams. There are a few Swedish girls and Norwegians … it’s going to be the most internationals I’ve played with in a team so it’s going to be good.”
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Its not a step up but a step down. This is womens not mens. USA NSWL has the toughest league in the world, a lot more top foreign players than any single Euro league, and the W-league is actually high in standard as well because it alternates with the US you have players from the NSWL coming to play here. City tend to splash a bit of cash. Only thing Europe has is the champions league as a source of higher competition. It will please the fan boys she plays for a big name club, I assume she would be the top paid female player in the world as a result of this.
Buddy
Roar Rookie
Well my family has always been split between West Ham and Chelsea but when I emigrated my brother was quite young and he asked me if I had any advice for him - and in all seriousness I said “whatever you do, just don’t become a Spurs fan”. That was 1985 and he became a Man Ute fan...... been pain and suffering ever since for most of us when they had SAF and now for him!
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
Agree, imagine my shame, my family are from North London, we all go for Tottenham, my son a Chelsea fan. :crying:
Buddy
Roar Rookie
We grew up believing Tottenham to be top dog in London many decades ago and there were a lot of bruises and scars gained in proving otherwise. My kids grew up in the 9p’s wondering why anyone would be worried about them at all.......just a reflection of the changing times I suppose.
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
Spot on Nemesis. This has been a very big week for women’s football in Australia.
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
She's played here for a number of seasons, and more than likely she will play here again. W-League will be fine. How smart does the Optus deal look now............
Post_hoc
Roar Rookie
She's playing for Chelsea, not Tottenham.
Nemesis
Guest
Welcome to the world of globalisation. If skills & labour are able to cross borders easily, the rational, best-qualified workers will be attracted to the economies that pay the best wages. It's happened for men's football all across the globe. The biggest football nations including: all Sth American nations constantly lose their best talent in the men's game. In fact, even European power nations, like Germany are losing their best male talent to even bigger domestic leagues. Now it's happening for the Women's Game. Smart football nations will realise they can leverage this globalisation by churning out great "products" that the rest of the world wants to buy.
Wayne
Roar Guru
Good for Sam, but I can't help but think what the Impact will be to the W-League. How can we expect the standard of the competition to improve if the best players Internationally don't come her to play and our best domestic players play overseas. Its not a question of Sam going overseas to play, it's more a question of how does the W-League step up into the 'elite' tier of competition so our domestic players (Young Matilda, fringe players) can develop
Justin Kearney
Roar Rookie
What great news for Australian football and just further evidence of the advantages elite male and female sportspeople here can gain by playing international sports including the rugby codes cricket basketball netball etc. Kerr is breaking new ground for female Australian sportswomen and will play for the greatest football club on the planet while doing so. Happy days!