Official: Nashville SC acquire forward Sam Surridge as Designated Player

NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC officially announced the signing of striker Sam Surridge as a Designated Player from English Premier League side Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

Surridge, 24, joins Nashville for a reported $6.44 million, with add-ons that could increase the total fee to more than the $6.8 million Nashville spent on club-record signing Aké Loba. His deal runs through the 2026 season, with a club option for 2027.

“Sam is an athletic striker who is clinical around the goal,” General Manager Mike Jacobs said in the club release. “He fits our club DNA and has proven his ability to influence winning with his integral role in Nottingham Forest gaining promotion to the Premier League in 2022. We are excited about this next chapter of his career here in Nashville.”

Surridge is a product of the AFC Bournemouth youth academy. After loan spells with Yeovil Town, Oldham Athletic and Swansea City, he made his breakthrough at Bournemouth in 2020, playing six matches in the Premier League and becoming a regular starter in the Championship.

After a brief stint with Stoke City, Surridge joined Nottingham Forest in January 2022 for a reported $2.8 million. Surridge tallied eight goals and one assist in 888 minutes in the 2021/22 season. He was a regular in matchday squads after Nottingham Forest’s promotion to the Premier League, making 20 total appearances, but started just once. In all, he finished the 2022/23 season with three goals and two assists in 743 minutes last season.

6’3″, quicker than he appears, and a composed finisher in and around the box, Surridge fits the profile Gary Smith and Nashville have looked for in their starting striker. He’s still young and has yet to reach his prime.

Nashville have been towards the top of the table with little-to-no production from their starting strikers. If Surridge is able to come in and score three to four goals in the final 10 matches of the regular season, while developing a connection with Hany Mukhtar, he’ll take this team to another level.

We’ll have plenty more analysis of Surridge and how he’ll fit in Nashville here at Broadway Sports Media in the coming hours.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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