Sam Surridge is no stranger to new challenges after switching to Stoke City in the summer of 2021 for an undisclosed fee.

The 23-year-old had been on AFC Bournemouth’s books since he was 14 but found himself tasked with the job of making his mark elsewhere in no fewer than five loan spells away from Dean Court.

Surridge succeeded on each occasion, starting with Weymouth in the 2015/16 season followed by Poole Town later in ’16.

League football held no fears for him either, as he proved when he spent the 2017/18 season on loan with Yeovil Town by bagging 10 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions for the League Two outfit.

His next step was Oldham Athletic in July 2018 for a season-long loan which saw him score five goals in four matches in September, earning him the League Two Player of the Month award in the process.

By January he had 12 goals to his name from 20 league and cup appearances and was recalled by Bournemouth, for whom he made his Premier League debut in a heavy defeat at the hands of Arsenal the following month.

Despite spending half of the season away from the club, Surridge was named Bournemouth’s Under-21 Player of the Year award for 2018/19.

Swansea City provided his next port of call as he joined them on what was intended to be a season-long loan for the 2019/20 campaign but by the time he was again recalled by Bournemouth in January he had scored seven goals in 23 appearances for the South Wales club.

He opened his scoring account for Bournemouth later that same month as he bagged what proved to be a consolation strike in a 2-1 FA Cup defeat at the hands of Arsenal.

Surridge was a fixture in Bournemouth’s first team squad in 2020/21, making 35 appearances and scoring six league and cup goals – although the vast majority of his game time came from the bench.

In total, he made 42 league and cup appearances for the Cherries, scoring seven goals.