Cooper: Timing of Sam Kerr arrival will be key to Chelsea title push

Sportsbeat
Deanna Cooper in action for Chelsea

Sam Kerr’s arrival at Chelsea is imminent and with the Barclays FA Women’s Super League so finely poised at the turn of the year, Deanna Cooper insists the timing couldn’t be better.

Emma Hayes’ side have made an unbeaten start to the season but still find themselves four points adrift of reigning champions Arsenal despite beating them 2-1 at Kingsmeadow back in October.

Draws against Brighton and Liverpool and a postponed fixture with Everton have caused unwanted interruptions but the capture of Australian Kerr marks the most high-profile signing in the history of the WSL - and the most potentially exciting too.

And the 26-year-old, the record goalscorer for both the American and Australian domestic leagues and captain of her country, is landing at just the right time, according to Blues defender Cooper.

“If you look at our squad everyone is fighting for places every week,” said the 26-year-old.

“No one knows the starting XI from week to week because we’re full of world class players so adding another one to that is only going to make us better.

“It means we’re fighting for places which means training at a higher level, which means everyone is improving, so we’re actually buzzing for her to come in.”

Cooper’s own time with the Blues has been blighted by injury having suffered an ACL injury two years ago - the same injury that sadly ended her sister Catherine’s own career.

But Cooper finished 2019 on a high, making intermittent appearances under Hayes and even scoring against Reading in a mid-December FA Women’s Continental League Cup tie.

Even before the addition of Kerr, the Chelsea ranks are well stocked with world class talent, with the likes of Bethany England and Ji So-yun showing great form this season.

And by her own admission, it isn’t just a regular spot back in the team that Cooper is fighting for - her and her teammates want to win as much silverware as possible this year.

“We have a world class squad full of internationals so breaking back in is always going to be tough,” she added.

“We’re really lucky in that we’ve got a lot of people with great technique and I think our scoresheet has been showing that a lot of the different players who have scored.

“And its coming from different areas so it’s always good for us as a team not having to rely on one person.

“I have to say we’re going for everything this year so whether its the league, the cup, goal difference - it doesn’t really matter, we just want to be scoring goals.”