West Ham midfielder Freddie Potts has had to wait longer than he’d imagined for his first real taste of victory in claret and blue.
Named Man of the Match by Sky Sports for his performance against Newcastle, Potts featured heavily in pre-season under Graham Potter — only to be dropped once Premier League action began. Since then, the academy graduate has had to stay patient, biding his time for a proper chance.
But alongside Mateus Fernandes, the 21-year-old finally seized his moment in Nuno Espirito Santo’s revamped midfield. The pair brought energy, bite, and composure to the engine room, dictating play with sharp, progressive passing and showing the kind of hunger the team has been missing.
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Freddie Potts won man of the match for his performance against Newcastle
Potts and Fernandes Impress in Nuno’s Midfield
It was their tackling and duelling, though, that likely pleased Nuno most — levels above what Andy Irving and Tomáš Souček managed the week before. Even more impressive was the calibre of opposition, with Newcastle’s midfield trio of Bruno Guimarães, Joelinton, and Lewis Miley widely regarded as one of the Premier League’s best-balanced units.
The fans recognised the effort too, with chants of “Freddie Potts, he’s one of our own” echoing around the London Stadium throughout the match.
Nuno Espirito Santo was quick to praise his young midfielders after the final whistle:
“I think Freddie and Mateus did a good game*.* The idea was to try and control the middle because Newcastle have Bruno, they have Joelinton, they have some quality players.
If you allow them to play freely, they’ll put you on the ropes. It was important to see that we were suffering but not conceding. We were resilient without the ball, and when we’re organised, we’re hard to beat.”
It’s clear that Potts and Fernandes must now form the foundation of West Ham’s midfield for the foreseeable future. If they can perform with that level of maturity and control against Eddie Howe’s formidable side, there’s no reason they can’t do it against anyone