Freddie Potts has had to be patient this season, but his reward for that patience could come at the unlikely venue of the National Arena in Bucharest this week.
The 19-year-old travelled to France with David Moyes’ first-team squad in pre-season and impressed the manager and his coaching staff with his ability, work-ethic and professionalism, only for an injury suffered in training to rule him out of the Hammers’ opening fixture at Swiss side Servette.
Potts has since returned to action, featuring nine times for the U21s in Premier League 2 Division 1 and scoring in the Papa Johns Trophy victory at EFL League One side Cheltenham Town earlier this month.
Now, a year after making his first-team debut as a substitute in a UEFA Europa League tie with Dinamo Zagreb at London Stadium, the midfielder could be in line for his second senior appearance in Thursday’s UEFA Europa Conference League Group B tie with FCSB in Romania.
“It’s a different environment, being with the first team, and being around the group 24/7, seeing what they’re like on and off the pitch is massive for my development as a player and as an individual as well,” he began.
“I loved it in Évian. The sessions were really good and being around the squad and the players was a really good experience. Being around it for a week was really important for me, in terms of the standards they set and learning from the players and how they act and live their lives. I’ll always remember my first pre-season tour.”
Like every youngster at the Academy of Football, Potts aspires to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Mark Noble, Declan Rice and Ben Johnson and graduate to the first-team squad. With a maturity that belies his teenage years, the No68 is already making the same sacrifices that illustrious trio made to help realise their own footballing ambitions.
“There are temptations at my age that are pretty hard to say no to, but obviously being around the squad now and seeing the rewards that you get from sacrificing that much to have a career like Nobes did or Dec and Johno are having, those are sacrifices you have to make to become successful in football,” he continued.
“In this day and age, with phones and social media, it becomes harder and harder to stay away from the temptations, because you can see what you’re missing out on with your friends, but it's all part of the process and hopefully you will reap the rewards for the sacrifices that you make. Long-term, it’ll be worth it.”
“It’s not like my friends are doing anything out of the ordinary for people my age, but you have to do the right thing for a footballer to do if you want to go far, and I feel I’m on the right path to do that.”
At the Academy of Football, every young player is encouraged to live their lives to give themselves the best possible opportunity to succeed, but of course talent also plays a big part.
Having impressed the first-team coaching staff and been included in the squad for Thursday’s European tie, Potts hopes he has both the application and the ability to make the progression from Chadwell Heath to Rush Green.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I feel that I'm starting to adapt to the standards, the tempo and the professionalism around the training ground and I feel like I’m coping with it,” he said.
“There is always competition to take the next step, no matter what level you're at, but I feel the transition from the Under-21s to the first team is probably the most difficult part of a career you can have.
“You have just got to take every opportunity you can. You have to help each other along the way, and we’re all enjoying being part of a group that has got some serious talent in it, but there is always competition, as I said.
“We all want to impress the manager and staff and show that they don’t need to spend millions on a new player, and that’s what games like this are all about.”
