West Ham’s 3-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday was a special day for 22 year old Freddie Potts. The boyhood West Ham fan, who’s been at the Club since the age of six, made his full Premier League debut at the London Stadium and rose to the occasion as the Hammers secured a much needed three points.

2025 has been a challenging and rather miserable year at home for West Ham. The victory over Newcastle was a long overdue win at the London Stadium, something supporters have waited for since the end of February.

The visitors struck early thanks to a goal from Jacob Murphy, but that prompted a strong response from Nuno Espirito Santo’s side. A long range strike from Lucas Paqueta brought the Hammers back into the game, before a Sven Botman own goal at the end of the first half gave West Ham the lead.

Academy graduate Potts almost marked his standout display with a dream goal, only to be denied by the narrowest of offsides, before Tomas Soucek added a third deep into stoppage time to seal the victory and round off a much improved display from the Hammers.

Lining up alongside summer signing Mateus Fernandes, Potts showed confidence and maturity beyond his years in the heart of West Ham’s midfield. His performance thoroughly impressed the home crowd, chants of ‘One of our own’ echoing around the stadium several times.

Speaking to the Club’s official website after the match, Potts discussed the mindset he took onto the pitch in his first Premier League start as well as the team’s collective effort to secure the win.

“I just wanted to win every battle that I could out there and do everything I could for the team, and I think we all did that together as a team today. I think it wasn’t just me, but there were a lot of players, everyone did it. We all fought for the shirt, and we came away with three points, which I think was deserved.” said West Ham’s no. 32.

Having a first Premier League goal ruled out would have been a tough pill to swallow for the 22 year old, but Potts kept his focus on doing his part for the team: “I was told by Ollie (Scarles) it was so close, and I remembered about it, but the main thing today was to come into the team and help everyone and do what I can.” said Potts.

The Hammers midfielder appreciated the supporters chanting his name, but remained focused on the job at hand: “It was good, it was really nice to hear, and I want to thank the fans, but when you’re on the pitch and you’re playing, you’re focusing on what the task is, and obviously the task today was to play and get three points.”

West Ham fans love an academy success story. Beyond the obvious example of Declan Rice, Ben Johnson is perhaps the only other academy graduate in recent years to have enjoyed regular first team football across a number of seasons. Johnson, now at Ipswich Town, made over 100 appearances for the club.

Supporters have been crying out for youngsters to be afforded more opportunities for quite some time. They were given a glimpse of that last season when Ollie Scarles made 16 appearances in all competitions.

A refresh in the Hammers midfield is certainly overdue. Supporters have long recognised the need for a more youthful midfield, one with more pace and athleticism. At 22, full of confidence after two successful loan spells and a positive pre season, the club may just have found a ready made solution. Should Potts continue to impress over the coming weeks, supporters will finally witness another academy graduate establish themselves as a first team regular.