AUSTRALIA striker Sam Kerr joined Chelsea today, as the Football Association secured a deal with Australian broadcaster Optus Sport to air games from the Women’s Super League.

The 26-year-old joins the London club on the back of scoring 19 goals in 23 games for the Chicago Red Stars in the US National Women’s Soccer League.

Kerr is not only the all-time leading scorer in the United Sates but also in her homeland, where she recently played for Perth Glory after splitting her year between two clubs on two continents.

She will join the current WSL league leaders on a two-and-a-half-year deal in January, hoping to wrestle back the title from Arsenal.

“The WSL is the best league in Europe,” Kerr said. “I want team success and I don’t want it to come easy. 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 has a one-point lead over defending champions Arsenal going into Sunday’s sixth game of the WSL campaign against Manchester United.

Kerr is not set to link up with her new teammates until late December and faces plenty of competition for a starting place up front from the likes of Bethany England, Fran Kirby, Ji So Yun and Ramona Bachmann.

“The fact she chose Chelsea when she could have gone to any club in the world is a testament to the players and the staff here, because she saw this is as the best place for her to grow and take the next step in her career,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said. “That’s a wonderful compliment to us all.”

Kerr will become one of the highest-paid players in the women’s game and she hopes this blazes a trail for her peers.

“It’s obviously pretty amazing to say it like that, but for me it’s just the start,” Kerr said.

“I think all women’s footballers should be paid this amount and hopefully in the future there’s many more Matildas that earn this amount of money.

“It’s not about the money for me. I probably could have got bigger money elsewhere, but for me it’s about feeling comfortable and going somewhere where I know I’ll be valued and Chelsea have always been in the hunt for me and said that I was the player they wanted and made me feel really wanted.

“I want to be at a club where they need me as much as I need them.”

Kerr has scored 38 times for Australia since making her debut at the age of 15. That includes five at her third World Cup in June where she captained Australia in the run to the last 16.

Kerr, the youngest of four siblings, grew up in an Australia rules football family. Her father Roger, and Daniel, one of her two brothers, played professionally.

In what was seen as a coincidence given the timing, the FA also announced the three-year broadcast deal with Optus Sports.

“This is our first deal in the Asian region and demonstrates the ever-increasing global appeal of the league,” FA senior broadcast manager Tom Gracey said.