After scooping both the Players’ Player of the Season and Supporters’ Player of the Season awards during his first ever loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers in EFL League One in 2023/24, West Ham United Academy midfielder Freddie Potts has continued his development at Championship side Portsmouth this term.
Building on his upward trajectory towards Premier League football, Potts has made the transition to the Championship look effortless. Since breaking into the Pompey side in September, the 21-year-old has featured in all but one of their 27 league games, starting 24 of them.
Drawing comparisons from Pompey fans to some of their best ever midfielders, Potts has already surpassed his number of goal contributions from his standout season at Wycombe as his Portsmouth side look to secure their second season in the second tier since relegation to League One 13 years ago.
His journey on the Hampshire coast has been captured by West Ham TV in the latest episode of our 'Life on Loan' series, which you can watch in the video player above!
After a breakout campaign in League One, the Championship was naturally the next step in young Freddie Potts’ development. Newly-promoted Portsmouth, well aware of Potts’ qualities having faced the Chairboys in League One, were just one of the many suitors chasing the midfielder’s loan signature.
“There had been significant interest in Freddie since his performances last season,” said Pompey head coach John Mousinho. “We were fully aware of what he achieved during his first season with Wycombe. We played against him a couple of times and I thought he was one of the outstanding players at that level last year, so we were delighted to get the loan deal done.”
Choosing Portsmouth for the next step in his development has meant regularly playing in front of sellout crowds of 20,000 fans at Fratton Park. Potts and his Pompey teammates have made their home a fortress, with 26 of their 33 points coming on their own turf. A seven-game unbeaten run between October and January significantly boosting their hopes of survival.
The Academy of Football graduate said: “I knew the fans were a massive factor of why I wanted to come here because I’ve played them last year at Wycombe and this was the toughest place to play, especially when the fans are behind the team. These are the environments you want to be playing in. It’s been so good for my development. I’m really enjoying it so far.”
Meeting and perhaps exceeding expectations, Potts has certainly embraced life on loan. Entering the business end of the campaign as his Pompey side look to maintain their Championship status, for Freddie, it’s all about carrying on his momentum for the rest of the season.
“Everyone’s been really good to me and helped me out a lot. I think it’s the natural step. You have to move out sometimes in football. It’s the part of my development that I’ve chosen this year and I feel like I’ve adapted to it well, so it’s all about carrying it on for the rest of this season. Everyone at the club has helped me out a lot. I couldn’t have asked for a much better place to have settled in. I’m really enjoying it.”
Watch 'Life on Loan | Freddie Potts' in the West Ham TV video player above!