The Surprise Striker Making a Big Impact in MLS

If you mention the name Sam Surridge, there’s a good chance most people wouldn’t know who you’re talking about.

Even among more informed football followers, recognition comes slowly. They might recall a tall, right-footed striker from Slough, now 26, who passed through a long list of English clubs without ever quite sticking.

A product of Bournemouth’s academy, Surridge had stints with Swansea City, Stoke City, and Nottingham Forest. He showed flashes—an instinctive finish here, a decent run of form there—but never truly established himself as a starting force at any of those clubs.

By the end of the 2022/23 season, Surridge had made 26 Premier League appearances across spells at Bournemouth and Forest, yet had scored just a solitary goal.

So, how has the same striker, previously a footnote in the English Championship, found himself leading the MLS Golden Boot race ahead of the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez?

MLS Golden Boot Leader

Standing at 6ft 3in, Sam Surridge brings obvious physical presence. But he’s more than just a traditional target man.

The English striker has featured in 23 MLS matches, scoring 17 goals—a tally that not only puts him top of the Golden Boot race, but has also played a major role in pushing Nashville SC into third place in the Eastern Conference.

Sam Surridge scores a last minute tying goal on his debut. Then in the shootout he does this.

Absolute baller. #EveryoneN pic.twitter.com/pyyjdDI8bd
— Valair (@valairshabilla) August 9, 2023

But the real measure of his form comes in the minutes. With 1,997 minutes played, Surridge is averaging a goal every 117 minutes. That’s just shy of one per game.

Whilst Surridge may not have the best efficiency in the MLS—Messi, for example, sits just one goal behind with under 500 minutes less gametime—but this is a change for a player who, before his time in America, had never scored more than 12 goals in a whole season.

Surridge did not have the greatest start to his third season in the United States. After nine games, Surridge had just two goals and one assist in over 800 minutes of football.

From these nine games, Nashville had just 13 points.

Then came Chicago Fire—and perhaps the most explosive performance of Surridge’s career. In a rampant 7–2 win, Surridge would net four goals in 86 minutes, announcing himself with a haul that reignited both his form and Nashville’s season.

🇺🇸 What a night for Sam Surridge! The former #NFFC striker scored four goals as Nashville thrashed Chicago Fire 7-2 in #MLS. This was his fourth goal on the night pic.twitter.com/lQ2yQnq6Id
— English Players Abroad (@EnglishAbroad1) April 27, 2025

Since then, Surridge has been a man on fire.

Between Matchweeks 15 and 21, he scored 10 goals in seven consecutive matches, finding the net in every single one of them.

It wasn’t just a return to form—it was a statement run that catapulted him to the top of the Golden Boot standings.

With just 11 games to go until the end of the regular season in the MLS, Nashville and Surridge are right in place to enter the playoffs as they attempt to win the MLS Cup for the first time.

A Career of Nearly Moments

What makes Surridge’s rise to glory even less expected is how little his time in England suggested it.

At Bournemouth, where he came through the academy, Surridge bounced between loan spells at Yeovil Town, Oldham Athletic, and Swansea City.

There were flashes of potential—12 goals in 20 games during his stint at Oldham being the standout—but never quite enough to earn a consistent place in Bournemouth’s first team.

After six years on the South Coast, he was sold to Stoke City, where he lasted just one season before moving again, this time to Nottingham Forest.

At Forest, Surridge would have his first big opportunity to stand out. He joined a striker's department with the likes of Lewis Grabban and Keinan Davis within it, and outed himself as the club's best finisher, netting a memorable hat-trick against former side Swansea City on Forest's way to Premier League promotion.

This finish was absolutely superb from Super Sam Surridge yesterday 😍#nffc pic.twitter.com/3tPpeoh4SA
— Forest Review (@Forest_Review) May 1, 2022

However, promotion back into the top flight may have brought elation for the club and the supporters, but did hinder the future opportunities of Surridge. Despite calls from the fans for then-manager Steve Cooper to give the Englishman more game time, amidst Forest's initial struggles to keep their heads above relegation waters, "Super Sam" had to make do with a regular place on the bench.

And, in hindsight, it may have been the best thing that could have happened.

In July 2023, Nashville SC swooped in, signing Surridge for just over £5 million. It was a move that barely made headlines at the time—an MLS club taking a calculated gamble on a Championship-level striker.

But two years on, the decision to sign Surridge is looking like one of the best in Nashville’s short history.

Low Profile, High Impact

No, Sam Surridge is not Messi. He is not the face of the MLS—nor even the headline act at Nashville. Unless Thomas Tuchel has a delusional fever dream, we will not be seeing him in the next England squad.

But week after week, match after match, Surridge is the player delivering on the biggest football stage in America.

Messi, Suarez and the other names at Inter Miami may have the plaudits and praise, but in a league full of stars, it’s the quiet Englishman from Slough who’s leading the way.