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Freddie Potts is adamant he wants regular first-team football wherever his career pathway takes him next season.
And he hasn’t ruled out a potential return to Fratton Park should John Mousinho’s men secure their Championship status.
The 21-year-old’s long-term future at West Ham is assured after signing a four-and-a-half year deal with the Premier League club last week.
The classy midfielder has previously featured twice for the Hammers, with both outings arriving off the bench in the Europa Conference League in 2022-23.
Having subsequently been on successful season-long loans at Wycombe and now Pompey, Potts is focused on impressing Graham Potter during pre-season.
Yet whatever route West Ham decide for his development, he isn’t dismissing the possibility of another Blues loan spell.
Potts told The News: ‘I have developed true feelings for the club, I want this club to stay up, this is where it deserves to be and you see how much it means to the fans. Now I will always have that passion for Pompey.
Freddie Potts in the thick of the action during Pompey's 1-0 win over Blackburn. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImagesFreddie Potts in the thick of the action during Pompey's 1-0 win over Blackburn. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
Freddie Potts in the thick of the action during Pompey's 1-0 win over Blackburn. Picture: Jason Brown/ProSportsImages | Jason Brown/ProSportsImages
‘Wherever I am next year, I hope they still do well, because I know that they will. You develop that connection with the fanbase and the club.
‘Coming back next year is not my decision to make, that’s obviously down to West Ham and I’m going to give it my all at West Ham during pre-season, giving it my best chance.
‘Wherever I’ll be next season I want to be playing football, I want to be starting, like I have been this year, that’s why I have enjoyed it so much this season with Pompey.
‘Will I return? I can never say never, Pompey’s a massive club and it’s going in the right direction. Any player that comes here should be there for the pride and love their time here because it really is a great club.’
‘They believe I can play for West Ham’
Potts has made 31 appearances and scored once since linking up at Fratton Park in August.
When totalled with last term’s stay at Wycombe, that’s 84 matches under his belt since last representing West Ham in March 2023 during a 4-0 win over AEK Larnaka.
By his own admission, that first-team experience collected at League One and now Championship levels over the last two seasons has been invaluable.
And he will return to the Hammers at the end of the campaign buoyed by a new contract tying him there until the summer of 2029.
He added: ‘They believe I can play for West Ham at some point in my career, they believe I can be in their squad, I want to be a part of it in the pre-season coming up, I am going to give it my best.
‘I feel like I can go back to West Ham and give it my best shot. It’s really nice to see they’ve got that belief in me and nice to hear from the manager and people higher up in the club.’
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