How Freddie Potts is faring for Club Brugge as early West Ham transfer winner clear

Freddie Potts is nine games in to his Club Brugge career after leaving West Ham United this summer.

The 23-year-old midfielder had been with West Ham since the age of six, and turned professional in June 2021.

Consistently heralded as a top academy prospect, many inside the Academy of Football expected him to crack the Irons' first-team eventually.

However, he left for Club Brugge in this season's summer window having made just 28 competitive appearances for the Hammers.

News of his exit was met largely with frustration amongst the London Stadium faithful, with many still eager to see the player he could become.

Brugge fans will certainly be feeling very happy to have the Englishman in their ranks too after his early-season exploits in Belgium.

Where is Freddie Potts among Belgian Pro League's best in 2026-27?

Of the 22 Premier League appearances he made last season, Potts started just 12 of those.

Perhaps if Nuno Espirito Santo had placed greater faith in him, West Ham would've held a better chance at convincing him to stay.

Amid relegation to the Championship, it felt as though Potts could really emerge as one of the best midfielders in the second tier this term if he'd stayed.

Now he's doing exactly that, just in the Belgian Pro League instead, as his underlying numbers prove.

Per FotMob, his 455 successful passes rank him in the top 4.1 percentile of all Belgian Pro League defensive midfielders in 2026-27.

Meanwhile, his 13 aerial duels won and 589 touches put him in the leading 5.4 per cent, whilst his 18 clearances have him in the highest 6.8 percentile.

Potts is registering a 91 per cent pass accuracy rate, has made 11 interceptions and put up a total of 39 defensive contributions in eight games.

Seeing how well he's doing for Brugge must sting for those West Ham decision-makers who green lit the move.

There is one other glaring reason as to why there should be much Irons regret surrounding Potts, and it comes via a current Hammers player.

West Ham could've had best duo in the Championship

Signed as Potts' replacement this summer, Arne Engels is really starting to show his class for West Ham.

The 23-year-old broke the EFL transfer record in his move from Celtic to E20, and Hammers fans are now seeing why.

No Championship central midfielder has created more chances than Engels' 19 so far this season, despite having just two assists to show for that.

With Potts as the defensive anchor and Engels as the creative node, these two youngsters could've ran the show for Nuno in the second tier.

Tomas Soucek's first 45 minutes back against QPR were concerningly poor, and moving on from the veteran instead of Potts would surely have been the wiser move.

Hindsight does always win, but West Ham chiefs really should've foreseen Potts tearing it up in Belgium before signing off on this transfer.