Chelsea are still struggling to find Sam Kerr's replacement
Australian superstar Sam Kerr signed for Chelsea seven years ago today, she went on to become their joint all-time record scorer.
The then 26-year-old joined Emma Hayes' side, from NWSL side, Chicago Red Stars, initially signing a two and a half year deal. Kerr joined Chelsea with a reputation as an elite goalscorer after winning multiple golden boots in both Australia and America, scoring 148 goals in just over 200 appearances.
After six-and-a-half years at the club, Kerr has exceeded any expectations and will go down as one of Chelsea's and the WSL's greatest players
But since Kerr's departure, how has Chelsea replaced her, or are they still struggling to find someone to fill her goalscoring boots?
During her time at Chelsea, Kerr won 11 major trophies, including 5 WSL titles, in what was a trophy-laden stint in West London, becoming the Blues' all-time league scorer with 65 goals, twice winning the Golden Boot and being the WSL player of the season in 2022 and the PFA fans' player of the year in 2021 and 2022.
In what was her final appearance for Chelsea, Kerr equalled Fran Kirby's record, scoring against Manchester United in 2023, which was her 115th and final goal in the colours of Chelsea.
With Kerr now no longer at Stamford Bridge, the task for Sonia Bompastor is trying to find someone who will score the same volume of goals as the Matilda's all-time goalscorer, whilst Bompastor has talented players at her disposal, none of them are likely to provide the same output as Kerr.
Whilst the striker was at the club but not available for selection; players like Aggie Beaver Jones and Mayra Ramirez were both used, but had injury issues limiting their game time. Although both Lauren James and Alyssa Thompson are talented players, neither of them is an out-and-out number nine, meaning Bompastor had to think about who to play up top.
In the early parts of this season, Melvine Malard, who joined from Manchester United in the summer, has been occupying the striker position, scoring six WSL goals, already matching her tally from last campaign, whilst the Frenchman can play as a striker, during her time at United, she was typically used as a winger.
Although it has only been six months since Kerr left Chelsea, the main difference between when she was at the club and now is that she was the focal point when playing, whereas now many players will share the goals, making it unlikely for one player to reach Kerr's best tally, being 21 WSL goals in the 2020/21.
If Chelsea are going to be challenging Manchester City for the WSL title this season, they're going to need multiple players such as James, Thompson, Malard, and Beever-Jones to get close to double-digit goals or even above, especially with City having someone like Khadija Shaw up top who has scored 20 WSL goals in three of her five full seasons in Manchester.
