By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
With West Ham midfielder Freddie Potts seemingly close to a £10 million move to Club Brugge, it looks as though the Hammers are set to cash in on yet another player.
The son of West Ham coach and former player Steve Potts failed to feature as much as many expected in the Premier League last season after an outstanding loan spell at Portsmouth, where he was named the club’s Player of the Season.
Many expected the Academy graduate to become an important figure in West Ham’s push for promotion from the Championship. However, Nuno Espírito Santo’s recent team selections appear to suggest the manager has other ideas.
Today’s friendly in Germany could yet tell a different story, but in the previous two outings Potts has started on the bench while Kaiber Madrid, Mohamadou Kanté and James Ward-Prowse have all been preferred.
A difficult but understandable decision
For me, I have mixed feelings about this.
Whilst I’d agree Potts struggled to make an impact in the Premier League, he has already shown that he is a more than capable Championship player.
The problem is the competition for places. Nuno’s choice so far has seemed to lean towards others in his squad and it may well be that he chooses to give the green light to Potts’ exit.
With Tomáš Souček and Soungoutou Magassa expected to strengthen the midfield options, alongside the emergence of Lewis Orford and the continued development of Mohamadou Kanté, it’s understandable why the club might sanction the deal and thin out what is becoming a bloated midfield.
Regular football has to come first
It’s always disappointing to see an Academy product leave West Ham, particularly one who has worked his way through the ranks.
But the reality is that Potts was unlikely to receive too much game time this season with such competition for places and at his age, he needs week in, week out game time to develop further. Sadly, it looks as if that may be away from West Ham United.
Nuno is a bad man manager. Potts should be given a chance in the Championship. He did at Portsmouth so has experience at that level. Too many foreigners do not turn up on the pitch on a cold and windy away from home. The team needs West Ham bred players.
It is quite worrying that we are loosing or selling our young academy players.
I hope the ones we are keeping will be given the chance to progress at West Ham
All the players we are selling, but not a signing yet, we have money in the bank and are dilly dallying over a player who has agreed to a move to us but we willl not meet their asking price
Come on board we have already lost a player that according to you was in the bag, and ended up at Forest.
You are starting to loose the fans confidence already
Hope it is not going to be a last week panic buy,of unfit, past their best players which we have been doing for years none
Having to pay over the odds for the player and stupid wages offered and the can’t off load them.
The problem we have now got in Fulkrug, Cornet,Ward-Prowse,Kilman and Tobido and can not seem to be able to give them away
What are Mark Noble and Ken Brown doing at the academy7? If they are unable to coach the raw talent from 9 years old up to PL standard, what is the point of funding the academy? How many academy “stars” graduate to first team football? If the coaching staff can’t bring the best young talent available up to scratch, then why bother. Alternatively, is the club (Nuno) giving up on them before they have reached maturity. Something is not working.
Right move for club and player. Was never good enough for the Premier League and if the club are aiming to get back quickly he would struggle for game time.
Imagine selling palyers when nobody wants to join us! Jwp was right about nuno
Can base buying and selling on superstition what might happen in 14 months time.
The squad needs to be best for coming season and worry about 26/27 if promoted.
£10m does look good hope he’s got a sell on fee clause.
Did very well at Portsmouth, no reason he will not repeat that at Club Brugge, develop his all round game and get on with his career.
The club are treating its fanbase dispicably.over 50k season tickets sold and all they can do is sell players.
We are ill prepared for the season ahead and that is not acceptable!
I hope that the agreement has clauses in for buy back/ future sales. He’s off to a good club and future development could see a high return on 10 mill in the future. Best of luck to him!
I agree Gonzo. I thought he would be a mainstay of this championship season and if we are promoted he would be judged as to whether he could cut it in the EPL. You talk about Magassa but where is he and is he really any better than Potts?
This doesn’t augur well for George Earthy who in my opinion is behind Potts in his development
You have to have serious concerns about what Nuno is doing. OK, if he gets it right we will all thank him for it; but my underlying feeling is that he does not truly value our academy etc players. The first time I saw Potts, I thought that there was more than a little of Declan Rice in him. I agree that he didn’t set the place on fire last year, but who did ?
I will be sorry to see him go – I think that he could have come into his own in the Championship. I just hope that Nuno knows what he is doing regarding our young players. If he does, I will be the first to acknowledge it; but my suspicion is that he doesn’t, really – especially as Pablo shows no sign of leaving !
To sell Potts what is this club doing no one in yet it’s a shambles our chairman said we don’t nee to sell anyone really we all wanted Sullivan out are we any better I look at our line up all I can see big problems
Nuno has never given him a chance which I find bizarre when he was player of the season at Portsmouth. Next it will be Earthy !
The only person I want to see the back of is Nuno
👍
Nuno didn’t give Potts a chance.
Best of luck to young Freddie.
Once a Hammer, always a ⚒️
Totally agree with you Ted.
Sullivan has gone from the boardroom but our transfer strategy or lack of one remains the same I honestly feel that Nuno will be gone by Christmas
I think this is the right move for us. Potts showed last season that he is, at best, a midfielder for a lower status Premier League team and that £10m will be pure profit. Hopefully there is a sell-on clause in that contract too. I can’t see him as a starter over Kante, Magassa or even Orford, he doesn’t seem to have the physicality or speed needed for a combative or box-to-box midfielder. I wish him all the best and how refreshing to see another young English player move abroad and broaden their horizons. Will probably be playing Champions League football too at Brugge.
I Think the decision to sell Potts is based on,That they are betting on us getting promoted at the first attempt and while he may well have helped us this season back in the premier he wouldnt get the chances. I base this on the story which came out earlier that the players they want to get in are players for the future as well as the present.