Chelsea and Emma Hayes really pulled it off! The biggest transfer in women’s football belongs to the Blues! Sam Kerr turned 26 this September and has been an unstoppable goalscoring force for well over two years now.
Kerr, an Australian rules football talent who turned into a soccer star, made her professional debut with W-League club Perth Glory, and international debut for Australia, at the age of 15. She played for Perth before moving to Sydney FC, then was picked up by the Western New York Flash of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) ahead of the 2013-14 season, at just 20 years old. From 2014 until this season, Kerr spent her time knocking in goals in America then flying down to Australia to knock in some more.
Such is the life of a woman footballer, unfortunately.
This, however, serves to highlight how remarkable a talent Kerr truly is. It is not easy to go through full seasons on two continents 8,850 miles apart for five consecutive years, but that’s what she did and had to do. Over the past two years she has 105 goals in 127 appearances on at least three continents. That is absurd.
The NWSL, which will surely miss her, put together a highlight reel of the 77 goals she scored in the league. In it you can see not only the growth in quality of the NWSL, but Kerr herself. She has always been athletic, but she’s married that with the development and refinement of true striker instincts, perfectly timed runs and devilishly clinical finishing.
Welcome, Sam Kerr. I cannot wait for your first backflip in Chelse blue!