The credit Freddie Potts has given Portsmouth after outstanding West Ham breakthrough
Freddie Potts amassed 38 appearances in all competitions for Pompey during an impressive season-long loan at Fratton Park last term.
Freddie Potts has given huge credit to Pompey for helping him establish himself at West Ham.
The midfielder, who spent the 2024-25 campaign on loan at Fratton Park, was a regular fixture in John Mousinho’s squad after arriving in August 2024.
The talented 22-year-old was a vital cog in the Blues’ engine room, featuring 37 times in the Championship, while helping the Blues’ to second-tier survival.
Despite a slow start to the new campaign under former Irons boss Graham Potter, new head coach Nuno Espirito Santo handed Potts starts in two of the previous three Premier League matches.
The classy operator has revolutionised the midfield, with his performances helping West Ham to back-to-back home wins for the first time since October 2024.
And the ex-Blues loanee has heaped praise on Pompey for his instrumental stint at Fratton, which has been pivotal in his breakthrough at the London Stadium.
Freddie Potts credits Pompey for ‘perfect’ loan
Speaking on West Ham’s Irons Cast podcast, Potts said: ‘The academy and the Championship, they have similarities where there are good teams where they’ll like to play out (from the back).
‘But at the same time, what I’ve learnt is the nastier you are, the more tackles you win, the more battles you win, more times than not you’re going to have a good game and you win. That was the side that I learnt.
‘Now, even though it is the Premier League, I’m showing that sort of side in the Premier League where I want to leave a foot in on people and make tackles.
‘Portsmouth is very similar to how Upton Park was in terms of how close it was to the pitch and the atmosphere it builds. It’s a very similar fanbase to West Ham as well, they like the same sort of things, they like it if you make a tackle. Very similar.
‘It was the perfect match for me. When you adapt to the league and playing in front of people, it’s what loans are about, you learn it and you experience it. When you come back here in front of 60,000 people you’re not as fazed by it.
‘It’s so important for players to go out on loan and experience these sort of things and I’m happy I’ve done it.’
Freddie Potts’ love for Pompey
Potts totalled 38 appearances in all competitions for Mousinho’s men, who escaped the relegation picture to finish 16th on their return to the Championship.
And the midfielder has reaffirmed his love for Pompey and made it clear there wasn’t a better loan for his development.
‘Portsmouth came along last summer and when I found out about that - my agent was ringing me about Portsmouth - there wasn’t a better loan for me I didn’t think.
‘There’s not many fanbases that can get that sort of atmosphere week in, week out, on a Tuesday and a Saturday, home or away, I don’t think there’s many teams in England that could generate that atmosphere.
‘I absolutely loved it there. Loved my time there, learnt so much there even in the tough games. We were rock bottom in the league until November and we were really struggling.
‘But the group that we had knew we would have a real chance of still achieving something that year - and we did and we stayed up.
‘Great people, great memories and I absolutely loved it.’