Slaven Bilic makes strange Freddie Potts admission after West Ham draw vs Manchester United – ‘Nothing spectacular’
Freddie Potts is yet to impress Slaven Bilic despite his positive form for West Ham in recent weeks.
Potts has been great for West Ham in recent weeks after being afforded an opportunity in the starting XI by Nuno Espirito Santo.
The Englishman was once again called upon as West Ham secured a 1-1 draw against Manchester United thanks to a late Soungoutou Magassa strike.
Nuno opted to sit on a draw away to Man United and see out the result, made possible by a largely solid midfield performance.
Potts played a key role for the away side, but his showings haven’t been enough to win over former Hammers boss Bilic totally.
Slaven Bilic unmoved by Freddie Potts at West Ham
Potts joined Portsmouth on loan from West Ham last season, and it went on to be an excellent career move for the Englishman.
The 22-year-old was excellent under John Mousinho in the Championship and was met with rave reviews at Fratton Park.
That positivity was echoed at the London Stadium over the summer as the youngster put in a string of top pre-season performances under Graham Potter.
It took for the ex-Chelsea boss to be sacked and replaced by Nuno for Potts to get a chance, but he has grasped it with both hands in the past month or so.
It hasn’t been enough for Bilic to pile praise on the midfielder, with the Croatian giving his verdict on Sky Sports Main Event after the draw against Manchester United.
He said: “The first time I saw Potts was when he came on against Everton in the second half. He turned the game around, he was brave but nothing spectacular.
“He had legs, he was on the front foot, he was aggressive, he likes to travel on the ball, he was playing simple passes, but good passes, quick passes.“
Potts was generally excellent vs Manchester United
Potts featured across 83 minutes for the claret and blue outfit and was able to put in a shift before being replaced by Andy Irving.
The West Ham academy product maintained an 81 per cent pass accuracy and was also able to get one shot off while taking 43 touches.
Eight of his passes went into the final third, while three of his four long balls were accurate, something that can’t be overlooked.
The Englishman also chipped in with 10 defensive actions, while winning four duels on the night.
This sort of contribution can’t be overlooked and only makes Bilic’s post-match comment all the more strange, especially given his ties to West Ham.
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