Nottingham Forest hijack Cardiff transfer approach for Championship striker

Cardiff City’s deadline day swoop for Stoke City striker Sam Surridge has been hijacked by Championship rivals Nottingham Forest, according to Wales Online.

With Kieffer Moore set to depart from the Welsh capital to high-flying AFC Bournemouth on a permanent basis, Steve Morison was closing in on a loan deal for Surridge for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign.

But now Forest and Steve Cooper are said to have swooped for the 23-year-old late in the day for Surridge and the Reds could be set to take Surridge off the Potters’ hands on a permanent basis.

It comes after Forest lost Lewis Grabban to injury in their defeat to Cardiff on Sunday afternoon and in desperate need of attacking reinforcements, Cooper has turned to a player he utilised on loan when manager of Swansea City.

Surridge has disappointed at Stoke since his £5.5 million move to the Bet365 Stadium in the summer, scoring just twice in 20 league appearances and Michael O’Neill could be set to cash in on him already, with Josh Maja ready to take his place from Bordeaux.

The Verdict

It appears that Cooper is going with what he already knows as opposed to having a punt on someone he doesn’t have the experience of working with.

Surridge has scored goals in the EFL before for Bournemouth and in loan spells away from the Cherries but it’s fair to say that his first five months at Stoke haven’t been great.

It wasn’t expected though that they’d let him depart on a permanent basis though but that is what is looking likely now.

With Grabban’s injury it means Cooper is short of strikers and if Forest can do a deal cheaper than the one that took Surridge to Stoke in the first place then it could be a decent swoop.

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