What Nashville SC fans need to know about new forward Sam Surridge

Nashville SC signed Nottingham Forest striker Sam Surridge to a designated player contract, bolstering the MLS club's goal-scoring production with a forward touting English Premier League experience.

The 6-foot-3 forward agreed to a DP deal valid through the 2026 MLS season, with a club option for 2027. Surridge joins a Nashville center forward group that hasn't scored since May 28.

Surridge, 24, will be introduced Thursday, when Nashville faces Mexican team Toluca in its second Leagues Cup game (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass).

Here's what Nashville fans need to know about its new DP striker.

Sam Surridge in Nashville SC designated player history

Surridge is the sixth player to sign with Nashville as a DP in the club's three-and-a-half-year history, following Mukhtar, Zimmerman, Randall Leal, Jhonder Cádiz (loan; 2020-21) and Aké Loba (2021-22).

It's unclear what Nashville's new DP will earn annually in guaranteed compensation on his deal through 2026 (the final MLS Players Association Salary Guide is expected to be released in October). But Surridge was on a two-year deal worth $1.01 million per year at Forest, according to Spotrac and Capology.

For best comparison, Cádiz — Nashville's first DP striker — earned $1.02 million. The Venezuelan scored five goals in 35 games played.

Loba, Nashville's club-record $6.8 million signing, earned just under $1.5 million in 2022, but scored twice in 40 games played in one-and-a-half seasons.

Journey through English soccer tiers

Surridge's key into the world's most competitive soccer league was mastering loan spells, or short-term assignments with lower-tier teams to prove he was good enough for the Premier League.

Before the EPL, Surridge had to showcase his talent regionally in the sixth-tier National League South.

After starting his soccer career at local club Bournemouth Sports and joining AFC Bournemouth's youth academy at 14 years old, Surridge began his loan journey in July 2016, just before his 18th birthday — to English clubs Poole Town and Weymouth FC, respective clubs with development partnerships with Bournemouth. He scored eight goals in 19 games with both teams.

Then from 2017-2019, Surridge made stops at Yeovil Town and Oldham Athletic. He scored 22 goals in 73 games as a teenager amongst men, rising from the Nations Leagues to the Premier League.

In February 2019, Surridge made his professional debut for Bournemouth against Arsenal FC in the EPL at the Emirates Stadium, entering the game as a substitute in the 80th minute. He'd play in four EPL games total that season, before going on loan to Swansea City in the second-tier EFL Championship six months later. Then, permanently to league rival Stoke City.

But it was at Nottingham Forest where Surridge popularity skyrocketed. After joining the club in January 2022, the forward scored six goals and two assists in the final two months of the EFL Championship season to lead Forest's promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999.

England National Team

The lanky striker hasn't played for England at senior level, but briefly represented his country at Under-21 level in 2019-20. Surridge debuted in a October 2019 friendly against Slovenia's Under-21s, scoring a goal in just 45 minutes played.

Surridge played twice more for the Three Lions' youth outfit in Under-21 European Championship Qualifying, with the last coming in October 2020.

For stories about Nashville SC or Soccer in Tennessee, contact Drake Hills at DHills@gannett.com. Follow Drake on Twitter at @LiveLifeDrake. Connect with Drake on Instagram at @drakehillssoccer and on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who is Nashville SC forward Sam Surridge? Here's what you need to know