Wise men say, only fools rush in, but sometimes, it all works out. Sam Surridge wasted no time in swapping a bit part role at Nottingham Forest to become the leading man in the home of country music.

By Alex Roberts

Like any real country musician, Surridge made it the hard way, playing in football’s equivalent of a dive bars, loan spells with Yeovil Town and Oldham Athletic before making it to the big time with parent club Bournemouth in the Premier League. He’s more of a Willie Nelson than a Keith Urban.

Surridge made just two Premier League appearances back in 2018/19 with the Cherries before being shipped out on loan to Championship Swansea the season after. Some decent performances saw him return to the South coast in January 2019, but again, chances were limited.

Bournemouth were relegated that season, finally giving Surridge the chance to show what he can do for a promotion chasing side. Under Scott Parker, they went back up in 2021/22, but Surridge didn’t come with them and was sold to Stoke.

Another underwhelming six months followed with just two goals in 20 league appearances, but Forest came sniffing in January 2022, and he became a fairly integral part of the side that earned promotion under Steve Cooper.

Forest beat relegation by the skin of their teeth in 2022/23, and Surridge had a decision to make. At 24-years-old, he was entering his prime years, he could either continue to ride the bench at Forest or head across the Atlantic.

Rightly or wrongly, MLS has been painted as a ‘retirement league’, where ageing European stars turn up and cash in their final paycheques. For those of us that watch it, logistically it is slightly confusing but it’s a league with tonnes of quality.

Surridge joined Nashville as one of their Designated Players, a rule that was brought in so that teams could bring in players outside of the league’s salary cap. It’s helped lure the likes of Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard to the MLS.

If you’re looking for a comparison, though, Surridge is closer to Bradley Wright-Phillips, a Championship/lower Premier League level striker who wanted to chase what’s left of the American dream and ended up living it.

The summer of 2024 was a big one for MLS. None other than Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami a month before Surridge went to Nashville. Two players with a vastly different history before heading to the US but have been performing at a similar level since.

MLS’s ‘Messi-fication’ is a big deal, you can’t watch any game, whether Inter Miami are involved or not, without seeing his face. Considering he’s the greatest player in the history of the game, it’s hard to blame them for using him as such a huge piece of their marketing.

Speaking to GQ, Surridge addressed how much of an influence the legendary Argentinian had on his decision, saying: “I wouldn’t say it was one of the main reasons why I came out here, but it was another incentive to come out here and be in the same league as the best player ever. 

“Speak to everyone, you can see how much the league’s grown, how much exposure it gets. We’re on Apple TV now so people from home can watch Messi so it is huge.”

Founded in 2017, Nashville are one of MLS’s more recent additions. It’s hard for the European mind to comprehend such a thing, but it allows players to play without pressure. Instead of trying to live up to history, they’re making it.

MLS has a lot of high scoring individuals in the league, largely because there are 29 sides competing in separate Eastern and Western conferences. Former Liverpool and Aston Villa forward Christian Benteke ended the 2024 season as top scorer with 23. Messi was in joint third on 21, and Surridge down in 28^th with 12.

Surridge really found his feet last year. He was operating like a proper number nine, each of his 25 MLS goals came from inside the box, from a non-penalty xG of 19.95. Everything he touched turned to gold, but it wasn’t down to luck.

His best game in front of goal was the 7-2 win over Chicago Fire. Yes, his first two goals were penalties, but you can only score the chances you’re given. His third and fourth were the types of goals we’ve come to expect from Surridge.

With his side 5-0 up, Andy Najar clocked some smart movement from Surridge, popping an inch perfect ball over the top right onto the Englishman’s foot, putting him one-on-one with Chris Brady, before cooly slotting past the ‘keeper.

His fourth was pretty much identical. Only Gregg Berhalter knows why his side continued to play such a high line, but Najar once again found Surridge with a simple ball over the top and a couple of seconds later it was 7-0.

Surridge faced off against Messi on four consecutive occasions at the end of the 2025 season, once in the regular season and then three times in the play-offs. By this point, Messi had the golden boot pretty much nailed down, he just decided to show Surridge levels for the love of the game.

Nashville won just one of those four games, the second play-off fixture, forcing a tiebreaker, which Inter Miami won 4-0. Surridge can’t be faulted, he scored twice across those four games. Messi? He bagged eight.

Now, the 2026 season is underway, and one game in, Surridge doesn’t look like he’ll be letting up. He scored two goals in 16 minutes as Nashville beat New England Revolution 4-1 on Saturday (February 21). That’s two more than Messi…

Surridge has taken a path not many have dared try in the pursuit of footballing stardom. He’s since been linked with a move back home, but he doesn’t need to. The Premier League isn’t the be all and end all.

He may not be a huge fan of country music or fried chicken, but Nashville is where he belongs, and more players should take that same risk.

(Images from IMAGO)

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