After a season when only Lionel Messi scored more MLS goals there should be no surprise that such fierce competition is developing to bring Sam Surridge back to English football.
Surridge has been a sensation in two-and-a-half years since his transfer from Nottingham Forest to Nashville.
He finished the last regular season with 24 goals, five behind Messi’s 29, and scored 31 in 40 appearances across all competitions, inspiring his club to its first major title, the US Open Cup, the United States equivalent of the FA Cup.
Surridge scored a hat trick in a semi-final against Philadelphia Union and the winner with a penalty in the final against Austin, finishing as the top scorer in the competition with six goals.
Data identifies him as a clinical MLS penalty box specialist, capable of tight control in congested areas and converting chances. ‘He’s a killer in the most dangerous moments,’ according to Nashville teammate Daniel Lovitz. ‘Having him be so prolific frees up space for other guys.’
Tall at 6ft 3ins and mobile, he also ranks favourably alongside centre forwards in Europe’s big five leagues when it comes to aerial strength, which has caught the eyes of those in the Championship.
At 27, he is a target for several clubs, including Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are casting for potential replacements for Jorgen Strand Larsen as they brace for relegation.
Sam Surridge has scored 51 goals in 87 appearances since moving to Nashville in 2022
Surridge’s seven goals in 17 games helped fire Nottingham Forest to promotion in 2022
Plenty of others are interested, however, including clubs challenging to win promotion to the Premier League.
Slough-born Surridge started his career at Bournemouth who found him playing local league football for Bournemouth Sports and sold him to Stoke in 2021, but the move did not go to plan. He left Stoke for Forest six months later, where he made an instant impact by helping them win promotion.
Seven goals and an assist in 17 Championship games fuelled the late charge by Steve Cooper’s team into the playoffs as they brought a 23-year-old exile from the top-flight to an end by beating Huddersfield at Wembley.
Surridge was among the victims of Forest’s frenzied post-promotion transfer spree and started only once in the Premier League before Nashville bought him for £5million in the summer of 2023.
His MLS record is incredible, with 51 goals and eight assists in 87 appearances for Nashville. His contract expires at the end of next season.
