West Ham ‘have easy Freddie Potts decision’ after Mousinho comments at Portsmouth
Freddie Potts is one of several players West Ham United saw fit to send out on loan at the start of the current season.
Having made six first-team appearances for the Irons – albeit none in the Premier League and the last coming in 2023 – Potts was loaned to Portsmouth in August for their first season back in the second tier.
Potts impressed for Wycombe in League One the season prior and has played 27 times for Pompey this term, scoring once in 24 Championship starts as John Mousinho’s side fight to stay up at the bottom.
Portsmouth boss makes Potts transfer admission
With Graham Potter now in charge at the London Stadium and making the most of West Ham’s academy products such as Ollie Scarles, Potts may find a way back into the first-team fold under the 49-year-old.
Potter may well be inclined to bring his near-namesake back into the picture at Rush Green come the summer, with predecessor Julen Lopetegui only deciding to loan Potts out right at the end of the window.
Potts has indeed been a regular for Portsmouth as they navigate their way towards safety in the Championship, and Mousinho is open to the possibility of the midfielder heading back to Fratton Park.
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
| 16 | Swansea City | 35 | 11 | 8 | 16 | –9 | 41 |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 35 | 10 | 9 | 16 | –14 | 39 |
| 18 | Oxford United | 36 | 9 | 12 | 15 | –16 | 39 |
In quotes reported by Portsmouth News (8 March), Mousinho said: ‘It’s definitely a consideration for us in the summer.
‘We’ll see how things play out, but my gut instinct is Freddie should go back to West Ham and really [be] challenging over pre-season to get into their first team.”
Time is right for West Ham to cash in on Freddie Potts
Although Potter will want to assess Potts’ ability for the first time at the end of the season – being yet to work with the midfielder after taking charge in January – it may better for West Ham to try and sell up.
Potts’ current contract expires in 2026, meaning he’ll only have 12 months left on his deal this summer, and having been solid at the bottom end of the Championship, this may be the best chance the Irons get.
Portsmouth haven’t been pulling up many trees this term despite being the second-highest scorers in the bottom half, with Pompey also having the joint-second worst defence and conceding 57 goals.
As a result, it remains to be seen if Potter deems that Potts has found his level, and given he’s already overseen one transfer window in East London, the West Ham boss could move him on this summer.
That window saw Potter recall a loaned-out central midfielder in the form of James Ward-Prowse ahead of Potts, and that could prove to be the writing on the wall when it comes to Potts’ first-team chances.