Sam Surridge: the Englishman in Nashville gunning for the MLS Golden Boot
Ahead of the climax of the Major League Soccer season, the ex-Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest striker retains an outside chance of pipping Lionel Messi to the golden boot.
Sam Surridge doesn’t love southern fried chicken and isn’t particularly into country music (“I've sort of had to like it”) – but it hasn’t stopped the 27-year-old striker from absolutely thriving in America’s Deep South for Major League Soccer (MLS) side Nashville SC.
“The food is the only thing that I've struggled with – there’s a lot of fried stuff and it's pretty difficult to find foods that I'd have back home,”
says Surridge, “so I get my Heinz baked beans shipped over, or a family member brings ‘em out.”
After coming through the ranks at Bournemouth down on the English South Coast, Surridge had two nearly-but-not-quite dalliances with regular Premier League football – at Bournemouth (2018-19) and Nottingham Forest (2022-23).
Author's summary: Sam Surridge thrives in Nashville.