Ipswich Town plotting raid for £5m striker - Bristol City, Middlesbrough & Norwich should look to hijack ASAP | OneFootball

These three Championship clubs should look to hijack Ipswich's move for Sam Surridge this month

Ipswich Town are interested in signing Nashville striker Sam Surridge before the end of the mid-season transfer window, with Kieran McKenna's side keen to bring the former Swansea City and Stoke City loanee back to the Championship.

The Tractor Boys are keen to reinforce their striker options this month with the addition of Nashville forward Surridge, as reported by Mike McGrath.

The Englishman came through the ranks at Bournemouth, where he would play in both the second and first tiers for the Cherries, followed by moves to the likes of Swansea City, Stoke City, and Nottingham Forest in the Championship.

Surridge played a key role under Steve Cooper at the City Ground as Forest achieved promotion to the top flight in 2022, scoring seven and assisting twice in 20 league appearances.

Now, the 27-year-old has just completed his third season in the MLS with Nashville after a £5 million move in 2023, going toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi for the league's Golden Boot, drawing interest from Ipswich and previously Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ipswich have relied heavily upon Jack Clarke and Jaden Philogene to produce from out wide, with George Hirst, Ivan Azon, and Chuba Akpom struggling in front of goal this campaign - Surridge is being eyed up to fix those woes at Portman Road.

With Ipswich considering a late swoop for Surridge, FLW has identified three other Championship clubs that should consider a move for the striker before the end of the window.

Bristol City

Under Gerhard Struber, Bristol City have once again launched themselves into the play-off conversation once again.

The Robins achieved a sixth-placed finish in the second tier last season under the guidance of Liam Manning, and look set to once again be involved in that conversation come the end of the season.

Both Emil Riis and Sinclair Armstrong have struggled in front of goal at various stages of the season, and following the departures of Anis Mehmeti and Yu Hirakawa, their attack is currently weaker than it was coming into the January window.

The addition of someone like Surridge would only serve to help Bristol City in their hunt for the top six, whilst adding some much-needed quality and depth in the final third.

Whether they would be able to beat Ipswich to Surridge’s signature, though, remains to be seen, but they should do everything in their power to bolster their attacking options before the end of the month, and with funds received from Mehmeti's move to Ipswich and Antoine Semenyo's big Man City move handing the Robins a significant sell-on clause, there should be money to spend at Ashton Gate.

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough’s hunt for automatic promotion this campaign is well and truly on, with Kim Hellberg’s side slowly closing the gap to Coventry City at the summit of the table.

Since Hellberg replaced Rob Edwards in The Riverside dugout, Boro’s form has remained strong and their performances the same, although despite Tommy Conway beginning to find form in front of goal, they still lack a degree of cutting edge in the final third.

Between their 2-0 away loss to Bristol City and 1-0 away defeat to Derby County, they endured a four-game goalless drought, though they would register 80 shots in that period.

Creating chances has never been a problem for Boro, and although they have won four on the bounce since and scored 13 times, there remain doubts in Conway’s long-term ability to find the back of the net.

A lethal finisher could be the final missing piece Boro need to become true promotion favourites, and Surridge could be the man they land on just for that.

Norwich City

Ipswich’s bitter rival, Norwich City, has had a disappointing season by almost all metrics, despite their recent upturn in form under former Monaco and Rangers boss Philippe Clement.

The Canaries have lost just four of Clement’s 14 league games in charge thus far, whilst victorious in seven of those, lifting them out of the relegation zone as things stand.

With the bombshell that American forward Josh Sargent wants to leave the club this month, this leaves just Jovon Makama as the club's only other recognised centre-forward, and whilst he has performed admirably, another option up top wouldn’t go amiss.

Sargent is angling for a move back to his native North America in the MLS, and Norwich may need to look no further than the same league for Surridge and offer him a return to England as an alternative to Bodø/Glimt striker Kasper Høgh, who is also wanted by Celtic, with European football potentially more attractive than a move to Carrow Road.

Whether Norwich would be able to convince Surridge to join them over Ipswich remains to be seen, but his addition would come as a huge blow to the Tractor Boys and potentially a major coup for Norwich in their battle to avoid the drop.