Freddie Potts prefers to let his football do the talking, but it is no surprise he is equally as impressive under questioning.
The 20-year-old midfielder is a wise head on young shoulders. He chooses his words with intelligent care and has benefited from being around the first-team environment at West Ham United.
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In July, Potts joined Wycombe Wanderers on a season-long loan. The League One side signed 13 players in the summer but Potts has been arguably the pick of the bunch, making an immediate impact with two goals and one assist across 11 appearances in the league.
“I’m loving it at Wycombe and it’s been one of the best decisions to come here,” he says. “The treatment and trust the gaffer (Matt Bloomfield) has put in me is starting to pay off. It’s a tough league with good sides but I’m really enjoying it. It’s a club that suits my style of play and we’re looking to achieve big things.
“As a young player, it’s important to get minutes under your belt. In pre-season (for West Ham), I kept thinking, ‘I have to go out on loan this year’. My first game (for Wycombe) was a 3-0 loss against Exeter City and it was an eye-opener about how different the pace and physicality are to under-21s football. Now I have that desire for three points; it’s the feeling of playing for something every week.”
Potts is the son of Steve Potts, West Ham’s under-21s manager who played more than 500 times for the club, and brother to Luton Town defender Dan Potts. Freddie joined West Ham when he was six and his deal expires in the summer of 2026. He made his first-team debut in the UEFA Europa League fixture against Dinamo Zagreb in December 2021.
⚒️ Freddie Potts has scored more goals in his last four appearances than his dad Steve did in a career spanning more than 400 games. pic.twitter.com/XVnpcFzz9q
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) October 8, 2023
Five unnamed League One sides were interested in signing the midfielder. But West Ham felt Wycombe — looking to implement a more progressive playing style under manager Bloomfield — would be best for Potts’ development.
“We went along to watch West Ham train at the end of last season and Freddie was a player who stood out, and we identified him as someone we’d love to bring in on loan,” said Bloomfield.
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“A lot of credit goes to Richard Thomas (Wycombe’s assistant manager), who has a close relationship with West Ham, including Freddie’s dad and also Kevin Nolan (West Ham’s first-team coach). Freddie plays with real energy and athleticism and I’m excited to see how he develops throughout the season with us.”
🚀 Freddie Potts. pic.twitter.com/ftEW3wq1EB
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) September 24, 2023
Potts scored his first senior goal in the 3-1 loss to Charlton Athletic. He has started 10 of his 11 league games for Wycombe and is in regular contact with West Ham’s first-team coach Mark Robson, previously manager of the under-21s.
Team-mates at Wycombe have been impressed at how quickly Potts has settled into what is his first loan spell, with one of them likening his assist against Fleetwood Town last weekend to a Cesc Fabregas assist for Chelsea against Burnley in 2014 — both being passes that no one else on the pitch saw coming. It has also been noted that Potts is not afraid to put his feet — and head — where it hurts, a necessary approach in the combative world of League One.
🏹 Pottsy assist, Taylor finish.
Magic. pic.twitter.com/yqtj9fMus4
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) October 7, 2023
“I’m playing with confidence and I’ve been getting forward and taking things on myself,” he says. “I didn’t know I could keep my shirt after my first goal. I gave it to the kit man (James Turner), but when I walked into the changing room at the training ground, I saw a note that said, ‘Congratulations on your first senior goal, Freddie. From kit man JT’.
“Mark Robson makes sure that I stay on my toes, my brother gives me lots of advice on and off the pitch and I speak to Nolan a lot. He’s the link between the players and the coaches. Hopefully, I can keep having an impact on this team. I want us to reach the play-offs and my personal goal is to be in contention for the player of the year award.”
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Potts has impressed West Ham manager David Moyes with his maturity and dedication. In 2021, when the first team returned from their training camp in St Andrews, Scotland, Moyes and his coaching staff asked who from the youth team had impressed. Potts’ name was mentioned, which led to the midfielder featuring in the pre-season draw away to Leyton Orient. It says a lot about Potts’ development that he only needed one year of his initial scholarship deal to convince coaches to commit his long-term future to the club.
The midfielder was an unused substitute in the UEFA Conference League final win over Fiorentina in June. When Potts emerged from the changing room, he was embraced by sporting director Mark Noble. Potts’ journey to Prague proved to be a remarkable one.
“Before the final, me and Divin (Mubama) had to sing during the warm-weather training camp in Portugal,” says Potts. “I went for Justin Bieber’s ‘Love Yourself’. I got a standing ovation and Aaron Cresswell said I was pretty good. “I wasn’t involved in the squad for the semi-final (against AZ Alkmaar), so I watched it at a local pub as a fan. To get the call-up for the final was crazy.
“When I trained with the squad a few weeks before, I thought nothing of it. I joined them for the trip to Portugal and, again, thought nothing of it. Then all of a sudden, the squad list gets put out and me and Divin are in the squad. For the final, we weren’t expecting to be on the bench.
“About 30 minutes before we went out to warm up, me and Divin were still in our tracksuits. Then Emerson (Palmieri) says, ‘Boys, what you doing? You’re on the bench’. Me and Divin looked at each other like, ‘No way, this can’t be real. Let’s hurry up and get to the changing room’. We literally had no idea. It was so surreal.
“My shirt and medal are framed. I’m making sure I keep that for the rest of my life. My uncle Dan was at the game because I managed to get him a ticket. He’s a massive fan. I got him on the pitch and that night was so special for us. That whole experience has made me more driven.
“The success we had is something we haven’t had for a very long time. I know what it means to the fans because I’m one too. To be part of that is something I’ll never forget and it’s motivated me to really kick on with Wycombe this season.”
(Top photo: Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images))