West Ham boss puts Portsmouth in tricky position with latest words on Hammers gem Freddie Potts
There’s hope that Pompey could land West Ham midfielder Freddie Potts on loan again next season.
But the Blues will have to play a long, and potentially tortuous, waiting game if they’re serious about a reunion in 2025-26 - if Graham Potter’s latest words on the 21-year-old is anything to go by.
The London Stadium academy graduate penned fresh terms with the Hammers last week, signing a long-term deal to remain with the Premier League outfit until 2029.
Since then both John Mousinho and Potts have discussed the possibility of potentially linking back up again next season, should Pompey maintain their Championship status.
That’s easier said than done, though, with West Ham boss Potter confirming he wants to cast his eye over the former Wycombe loanee in pre-season before making a decision on the next stage of the player’s development.
Another long-winded summer pursuit potentially lies in wait!
Speaking to the Irons’ official website, the head coach said: ‘Freddie has had a couple of really good loans, successful loans, which I think is important for a player, at Wycombe and now at Portsmouth. It’s really important to have that accumulation of games, those minutes.
‘We do a great job in terms of the Academy and development and have a good programme internally, but sometimes you need to go out and play as well and he’s done that and he’s had the benefit of that. So we’re looking forward to him finishing the season off strong and then coming back and being part of our group in pre-season.’
Pompey will have to be patient in pursuit for Freddie Potts
News of West Ham’s plan to assess Potts this summer will be nothing new to the Fratton faithful. Nor will it be a surpise, given the levels he’s performed that this term. Nevertheless, it guarantees a period of uncertainty that could ultimately prove fruitless.
Mousinho has reminded us time and time again that the best Premier League youngsters won’t become available for loan until late in the summer transfer window - if they are even made available at all!
That was made clear again last year, with Pompey only confirming Potts’ season-long loan in the final days of August. And it will be no different this summer, with West Ham keen on utilising the youngster for their pre-season schedule, before deciding whether he’s first-team and Premier League ready.
That begs the question: do Pompey stick or twist in their pursuit of the London-born talent, who will be a top target in the upcoming window?
The Blues will already be planning for new additions in the centre of midfield, with Marlon Pack, Terry Devlin and rookie Abdoulaye Kamara the only options currently contracted beyond this season. Isaac Hayden will return to Newcastle, while Andre Dozzell’s future remains up in the air as he enters the final months of his existing deal.
There’s clearly an element of strengthening to be done.
Yet Pompey will have to remain patient over the classy operator’s future - and be prepared to act swiftly and with purpose if the noise emerging from the London Stadium isn’t what they want to hear.