Following a stellar debut full season with the club, Kerr has become an integral part of the squad since joining midway through the 2019/20 season, with 39 goals and 56 appearances to her name.

Kerr has now penned a new deal to stay at the club for at least another two years beyond this season and spoke of her excitement.

‘It’s really exciting. I’m really happy at the club. We’ve had good success, being at a club like Chelsea is an amazing opportunity.

‘The time was just right, I feel really comfortable being here. I think the club gives me every opportunity to succeed as a player.

‘I can’t see myself going anywhere else in the world or leaving Europe, having what I have at Chelsea.

‘The time was right, honestly, I didn’t feel like I wanted to rush into anything, just like signing here the first time, it just happened naturally.’

The Matildas captain also discussed what drew her to stay at the club, commenting: ‘The team speaks for itself, every day at training playing with world-class players; getting challenged every day and winning trophies at the same time.

‘I hadn’t won much when I came here and after last season, I think it’s just a no-brainer for me to stay.’

General manager Paul Green added: ‘We are absolutely delighted that Sam has extended her deal with the club. Sam is quite simply one of the world’s best strikers and goalscorers.

‘We look to continue to build on our recent successes, and Sam will play a big role in achieving those targets in the future.’

The 28-year-old is no stranger to winning awards, having scooped the Golden Boot for the Barclays Women’s Super League 2020/21 season with 21 goals in 22 matches. It is an accolade she received two previous times as top scorer in the US and Australia, making her the first player to ever win it across three different leagues, in three different continents.

Looking back at the achievement, the number 20 said: ‘I don’t go out there to win golden boots, I just go out there to give everything I can to the team and help the team to succeed and win trophies.

‘I'm not going to lie, it’s nice when I do win them but that’s not my main goal at the start of the year. It’s a nice reward, but if I won golden boot after golden boot and no trophies, it wouldn’t be that rewarding to me.

‘So that’s why last season winning the golden boot and winning the league was really rewarding because finally it meant something.’

As well as the Golden Boots, during her time at Chelsea the number 20 has also secured back-to-back league and Continental Cup wins and last season also came out top in the Community Shield, as well as reaching the final of the Women’s Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.

The forward is also on the shortlist for the Ballon d’Or for the third time in her career and most recently, was nominated for BBC’s Footballer of the Year for the fourth time.

Kerr has also enjoyed a successful international career, mostly recently captaining the Matildas to their best-ever Olympic placing, at Tokyo 2020.

Commenting on sharing the news of her extension with fans and looking forward to what is to follow, the forward added: ‘I’m just excited, especially after the Covid year and now welcoming them back to Kingsmeadow. It’s been such a buzz having them back.

‘I’m really proud to play for Chelsea and I feel our fan base at Chelsea is special. You see the same faces around Kingsmeadow, so for me I just want to make up for lost time. More goals and more trophies!’