DRIVEN frontman Sam Surridge revealed how he grew up watching strikers at Chelsea, as he gets set to face the Blues in a pre-season friendly tomorrow.

The England under-21 international, who turns 23 on Wednesday, admitted he loved viewing the Stamford Bridge side when he was younger.

Some of the strikers Surridge used to look up to included the likes of Diego Costa, Fernando Torres and Hernan Crespo.

Now he is set to gain more match sharpness against last season’s Champions League winners at Vitality Stadium (7.45pm).

Surridge told the Daily Echo: “I loved Chelsea when I was younger but as you get older I kind of just looked at players rather than teams.

“When I was younger Chelsea was my team. Costa, Torres, Crespo, all the strikers. I always loved watching the strikers at Chelsea.”

The contest marks the first time a full crowd has been permitted to be in attendance at Cherries since the coronavirus pandemic escalated in 2020.

The Blues were the most recent side to visit Vitality Stadium with a capacity crowd back in February 2020, before COVID-19 restrictions were introduced.

“I think it will be refreshing for everyone coming back and seeing us play,” added Surridge.

“Hopefully we can put in a good performance.

“I think it is going to be different for all the players. It is going to take some getting used to again but we’ve got Chelsea and MK Dons to play in front of a home crowd and then we go into West Brom on the Friday. It’s going to be good.”

The contest against the Blues is Cherries’ final opportunity to gain match sharpness ahead of their competitive schedule getting underway.

But Surridge admits he is always ticking over with his fitness, as dad Phil works as a personal trainer.

“He likes to get into me a bit,” admitted the former Poole Town loanee.

“A lot of the stuff is the stuff that Bournemouth give us anyway, so he is just there doing it with me. Any gym-related stuff I’ll just jump in with him.

“I have had a nice break but worked hard at the same time. I am obviously ready now, I’m in a good place and looking forward to it.”