Chelsea Ladies have announced the acquisition of U.S. women's national team star Crystal Dunn from the Washington Spirit of the NWSL.

Dunn, 24, joins the London club on a contract until 2018.

"It’s a big personal challenge for me but I am ready to take this next step in my career," Dunn told Chelsea's official website. "Playing for Chelsea is a unique opportunity for me to take my game to another level and I think the moment is right."

The New York native won the 2015 NWSL Golden Boot and league MVP with the Spirit after a campaign in which she scored 15 goals. In 2016, she helped lead the Spirit to the NWSL final and was also the runner-up to Tobin Heath for the 2016 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year award.

“On behalf of the entire Spirit organization and our fans, I want to thank Crystal for her years of commitment and outstanding performance,” Spirit general manager and head coach Jim Gabarra said in a club release.

Welcome to Chelsea Ladies, Crystal Dunn! https://t.co/PGCqSSVwyq
— Chelsea Ladies FC (@ChelseaLFC) January 3, 2017

Dunn becomes the second prominent U.S. women's national team player to announce plans to play overseas in recent weeks, following Alex Morgan's December announcement she will play for French side Lyon. However, unlike Dunn, Morgan's move is a loan, and she will return to the Orlando Pride in June for the remainder of the NWSL season.

C. Dunn

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