He was a flop at Stoke City, now he is battling Inter Miami icon Lionel Messi for MLS Golden Boot

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Football can be a funny game at times, and one former Championship player is proving that alongside the world’s best ever footballer.

‘Flop’ is a term thrown around very often in footballing circles, proving that sometimes it is a question of environment for a footballer and not talent.

That was proven on one occasion earlier in the summer, when former Middlesbrough flop Marcus Bettinelli joined Manchester City from Chelsea, and many Boro fans would not have envisaged that after his lacklustre spell in 2020/21.

In recent Championship memory, many argue that Tom Cannon has been a flop at Sheffield United after his £10m from Leicester City has seen the striker score just once in 22 Championship outings for the Blades.

Cannon now ought to follow suit, as another former Stoke striker has proven that the “flop” tag is not permanent by going head-to-head with a certain Argentinian superstar this season.

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Stoke City flop Sam Surridge fights Lionel Messi for MLS Golden Boot

After loan spells from Bournemouth at Yeovil Town, Oldham Athletic and Swansea City, Sam Surridge arrived at Stoke in 2021 with high hopes.

The Potters signed striker Surridge from the Cherries in August ahead of the 2020/21 Championship season for a substantial fee of £5.5m.

Not only was the transfer outlay extremely high, it was a massive leap of faith from Stoke after his less-than-impressive stint on loan at Swansea in the Championship in 2019/20, in which Surridge scored only four league goals.

Surridge slipped down the Stoke pecking order under Michael O’Neill, and the Potters cut their losses on the striker by selling him to Nottingham Forest mid-way through the season for £2m.

Stoke’s gamble was a costly one, and although the Englishman showed signs of improvement at Forest with 11 goals in 50 outings, it is in the MLS is where he has found his footballing home.

Surridge joined Nashville SC on a free transfer in the summer of 2023, going on to score 42 goals in 77 appearances for Nashville, and he is currently one goal ahead of Inter Miami star Lionel Messi in the MLS Golden Boot race.

With 20 goals in just 29 games, Surridge has been in prolific form, but the Barcelona hero has managed a goal a game on average with his 19 goals in 19 outings for the David Beckham-owned outfit.

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Why Stoke City sold Sam Surridge to Nottingham Forest in 2022

Surridge joined Forest on transfer deadline day of the 2022 January window for a £2m fee to leave egg on the face of former Stoke boss O’Neill.

As quoted by Nottinghamshire Live, O’Neill said in 2022: “We bought Sam in the summer with a long-term objective and unfortunately it didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. The player struggled a bit to settle.

“He got off to a decent start, scored on his debut, and the early games were very promising, but his form suffered a little bit after that, and I think generally he struggled to settle at the club. Sometimes that happens.

“When the opportunity came to do a permanent deal we thought it was the best thing to do for the club and the player. It was a good deal to be able to do at that point in time.”

Middlesbrough’s move last summer for Aidan Morris proves that MLS talent can perform at the highest level in the Championship, and with Surridge showing vast improvements since his Stoke days, could a second tier side take another punt on the striker next summer?