Prolific Danish international striker Pernille Harder on Tuesday joined Chelsea on a three-year deal to join an increasing number of stars of the women’s game heading to play their club soccer in England.
The 27-year-old last month guided VfL Wolfsburg to the UEFA Champions League final and scored 103 goals for the German side in 113 appearances over the past three-and-a-half years.
“I’m excited to just play for such a big club, to play with so many amazing players and to also be playing in the league,” Harder said. “The English league, it’s so exciting at the moment.”
Photo: EFE
Harder would join forces with Australia international Sam Kerr in West London, while title rivals Manchester City have reinforced themselves for the 2020-2021 season by signing US World Cup winners Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle.
“Pernille is one of the best players in the world. Her record at Wolfsburg and Linkopings, as well as internationally with Denmark, shows how valuable she has been to her teams,” Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said.
“She is a fantastic team player who wants to take her game to the next level. She chose Chelsea as the club that can push her to that level,” Hayes said. “She can play for any team in the world, but she chose us. She chose the players, the staff, the environment, the playing style. You can’t get a bigger compliment than that from one of the best players in the world.”
Chelsea were awarded the 2019-2020 Women’s Super League title on points-per-game ahead of City after the season was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chelsea begin their title defense in an away match at Manchester United on Sunday.
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