“You have to earn it, every single game,” Kadeisha Buchanan explained as she discussed her move from the champions of Europe to the champions of England. After winning five Champions League medals and five French league titles with Lyon in just six seasons, the defender was entitled to want a change of scene. Buchanan arrived at Chelsea following the club’s third Women’s Super League title in a row but as their defence began at newly promoted Liverpool, the Canada international was provided with the perfect example of the competitiveness and unpredictability she was looking for, as Liverpool came from behind to win 2-1.
There were plenty of reasons for Buchanan to choose Chelsea and the WSL as her next move, especially after a record-breaking summer in England which saw the Lionesses win the Euros on home soil. The WSL was already going from strength to strength, with Chelsea leading the way under Emma Hayes on the pitch, and England’s victory over Germany at Wembley had the potential to accelerate its development. But Buchanan was also enticed by something more, by the resources that allowed a club near the bottom of the table to shock its defending champion. It was an insinuation that the WSL was the place to be and, in some ways, the best league in the world.
