Freddie Potts knows he has a big opportunity to impress new Head Coach Julen Lopetegui during West Ham United’s two-week Sunshine State Tour of Florida.
The midfielder is back at his parent club after winning Player of the Season honours during a successful loan spell with EFL League One side Wycombe Wanderers last season.
Of course, the Premier League is a big step up in quality from the third tier, and Potts is certainly intelligent and aware enough to know he will need to continue improving if he is to earn his place in Lopetegui’s squad for the competitive campaign ahead.
And that is why Potts was so eager to show his worth after the Spaniard started him in Saturday’s 3-1 Stateside Cup defeat by another top-flight side, Wolverhampton Wanderers, in Jacksonville.
The game was not without its challenges, with a storm delaying kick-off, disrupting the warm-up and ultimately starting over two hours late in hot and humid conditions at EverBank Stadium, and the 21-year-old felt it was important to show what he could do, despite those potential distractions.
“It was tough conditions, first of all, and we know how hot and humid Florida is this time of year, but we just tried to adapt the best we could to the suspension of the game,” he told West Ham TV. “We didn’t let it affect us, we just got on with it and played the game.
“I’m buzzing with the start. Obviously more minutes is the main thing, but to play against Wolves, a Premier League team, is a game you want to play in in pre-season because it gives you that realistic chance to show the manager what you’ve got and it was the perfect opportunity for me to showcase my talent and my abilities against Premier League opposition, as that’s where I want to be playing this year.
“It was a good test, but I really enjoyed it.”
West Ham arguably played their best football of the night in the first half, when Potts was involved in the play, sitting in front of the back four and operating in midfield alongside Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse.
“We played some good stuff at times, especially I thought you could see how we worked well to create some chances,” he observed. “Obviously Mo [Kudus, who scored West Ham’s goal just before the break] was really good today and as a team I thought we created some chances through things we’d worked on in training.
“There were several patterns of play the manager is trying to implement into us and it came out today sometimes. Although it’s not perfect, that’s what we’ve been doing in training and we all enjoy it and see it’s a really positive way of playing football.
“I’ve loved every session we’ve had. The manager and the coaching staff have put on really good sessions for us and we’re all starting to gel as a team. Especially us young boys coming up with the first team, we’re all really enjoying it, and myself I’m just looking to keep working every single day and learn as much as I can.
“We’ve got unbelievable talent in our squad here and still more players to come, so I’m enjoying taking in new things and adapting to a new style of play, and want to showcase my ability on the pitch.”
For Potts, playing well in the United States also has some personal meaning as his father Steve, who went onto play 500 games for the Hammers, was born in the city of Hartford, Connecticut, while his own parents, Freddie’s grandparents, were living Stateside for eight years.
“It’s really good,” he confirmed. “We used to come to Florida as a family a lot so coming back here brings back a lot of memories. People here are crazy about football and are West Ham fans and I’m glad they got to see the game.”
