Nuno Espirito Santo grabbed his first win as Hammers boss when West Ham beat Newcastle 3-1 at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the win, West Ham are still in a relegation battle and need to use the three points as a springboard for their upcoming games.

Against Newcastle, Potts played as the lone defensive midfielder for the Hammers against the likes of Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, and Bruno Guimaraes in Eddie Howe’s three-man midfield.

Freddie Potts’ stats vs Newcastle, according to Sofascore

Speaking on Match of the Day after the game, ex-West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green explained how Potts’ dreams came true after his performance against Newcastle.

Green said: “A dream come true for him, he will be sitting at home with his dad watching this, thinking ‘this is brilliant’.

“Where they’ve struggled, Soucek and Irving as a defensive two haven’t done it for West Ham; he [Potts] did it as a one.

“The youngsters are sitting there on the bench, going ‘give me a chance’, he’s grabbed that chance.”

Potts’ playstyle and background are just so reminiscent of Rice, it cannot be ignored.

Potts can lift a trophy with West Ham like Declan Rice

Now, Rice is one of the best midfielders in the world, as the former Irons skipper has refined his game even further since his West Ham departure to Arsenal.

Rice burst onto the scene in the 2017-18 season, and later went on to make almost 250 appearances for the Hammers, lifting a European title in the process.

The Nuno era has just begun, and although it may seem a little too early, there is no reason why Potts can’t spearhead the Hammers’ return to glory in the near future.

A hard tackler and willing runner, Potts looks like everything Rice was at this stage in his West Ham career, and could go on to be one of the best midfielders seen at E20.

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