West Ham have very high hopes over the development of Academy midfielder Freddie Potts.
Potts, who is the son of club legend Steve Potts, who spent 17 years at West Ham, is one of the most exciting talents coming through The Academy of Football. Freddie has made a handful of appearances for the club in Europe but is yet to get his big chance yet, he hopes to change that this season.
“The summer was good.” He told WHUFC.com, “I kept ticking over and did something every single day, physically, because I didn’t want to come off of it and then not be right for pre-season. I got away for a holiday, which was really nice, but most of the time I was just preparing for this season. That involved some running and gym work.”
“When you’re this age, in this position, you haven’t made it,” he rightly said. That sort of mentality can be one of the big make or break things when it comes to youngsters. You might be a highly rated youth player, you might be getting spoken about but “you haven’t made it.”
He confirmed that “this season is about hopefully putting a stamp on the first team for me.” He’s looked great in midfield at youth level and he’s working hard to make that massive leap to the senior side. “I want to really push on,” he continued, “because this is a massive opportunity for me in pre-season and I want to make the most of it.”
Freddie isn’t the only player in his family hoping to make a name in the Premier League this season, his older brother Dan scored the winning penalty at Wembley that took Luton to the top flight of English football. “That was the highlight of the summer for us, with Dan getting that penalty to get them into the Premier League.”
With his family all being massive West Ham fans, his brother’s promotion wasn’t the only celebrations that they got to experience. “That was the best night of my career so far,” Potts exclaimed when talking about the Conference League final. “Just to be around it, to be on the bench and in the celebrations, it was so special, and it was something I will cherish forever.”
“For my development too, to see how these senior players reacted to different situations in a final – especially a European final – it was unique and a brilliant learning point for me.”
Undoubtedly, Freddie is one of many youth players who could go on to have an incredible career. This is the most exciting pool of players the club has had in years. So many of them could go on to be top players and, let’s hope, they do so for West Ham.
By Charlie Bass
