There are few easier ways to get the fans onside than to parachute ‘one of their own’ straight into the first-team, as Nuno Espirito Santo did with Freddie Potts during his West Ham United debut at Everton.
The 22-year-old academy graduate has now played as many Premier League games under Nuno as he did under Graham Potter, despite the fact the former only replaced the latter five days ago.
Freddie Potts is determined to kick on now and put a frustrating start to the season behind him. With Nuno Espirito Santo in the West Ham United dugout these days, opportunities will certainly be a lot more forthcoming than they were alongside a manager whose strange obsession with James Ward-Prowse quickly eroded any remaining goodwill in the minds of the fans.
And given that Potts played only 45 minutes in the first five Premier League matches of 2025/26, it is hard to imagine that Potter would have followed through on his George Earthy promise.
Much to the England Under-21 international’s frustration, Earthy has been cruelly denied a Potts-esque resurgence at the start of the Nuno era. After missing pre-season, the former Bristol City loanee is now facing another month or so on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.
Nuno Espirito Santo shares George Earthy injury update at West Ham United
Towards the end of his time at Ashton Gate, George Earthy had a meeting with Graham Potter. The vibe he got from those talks was that opportunities would soon be coming his way back home in East London.
Now, the luckless midfielder will see his wait for a first appearance of the new campaign delayed until November at the earliest.
The good news is that, during his Thursday press conference, Nuno confirmed that Potts’ introduction at the Hill Dickinson Stadium will be the first of many chances handed out to West Ham’s next generation.
“George, unfortunately, had an issue last week. [Apart from him] all the players are available,” Nuno said, confirming that Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka could feature in Saturday’s trip to Arsenal.
“We just had a meeting with medical department. [Earthy will be out for] four to six weeks, unfortunately.”
Earthy won West Ham’s Young Player of the Year award following his breakthrough at the start of 2023. He even scored a first Premier League goal against Luton Town.
Former boss David Moyes drew comparisons with David Silva due to his ability to find space between the lines, while Earthy took some silverware home from Bristol City too after helping The Robins reach the Championship play-off semi-finals.
Presuming Nuno intends to use the 4-2-3-1 system which worked wonders at Nottingham Forest, there could be a role for Earthy once he returns to full fitness, perhaps as a youthful back-up to Lucas Paqueta.
Nuno’s comments are good news for Freddie Potts and Callum Marshall
Ollie Scarles and Callum Marshall were back in the squad for that Everton draw. The West Ham fans are hoping to see Marshall given a run-out of his own following four goals in three Under-21 appearances.
And while Potter praised Mohamadou Kante’s development back in August, the powerhouse Frenchman is another who should benefit from a change in management at the London Stadium.
“The [young] lads are so important for us. They bring this energy. So, we hope George will recover soon,” adds Nuno, who gave Max Kilman his debut at Wolves and Morgan Gibbs-White his first Premier League start.
“We have to compete, this is the main message that has been passed to me, that we need to compete. To be strong, to be aggressive, to be brave.
“They say [bringing through young players is] the ‘West Ham way’. Let’s try.”
Jean-Clair Todibo and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in contention for Arsenal
With Tomas Soucek suspended and Ward-Prowse falling dramatically down the pecking order, Potts will fancy his chances of further first-team minutes at the Emirates. If West Ham were to pull off a massive surprise, this would be their third successive away win at Arsenal.
“We are trying to [get to] know the players as soon as possible, as best as we can,” Nuno says. “So we can make the proper solutions and decisions.
“James wasn’t involved [at Everton]. Let’s see [if he returns at Arsenal]. We have one more training session.
“We always have the same mindset; What the team needs. It’s going to be a long season. It’s too early to say what we expect. We need the squad strong and healthy.
“Today, we worked with 22 boys [on the training pitch]. Tomorrow is the day we make decisions. Todibo trained. Last week, he didn’t train in all the sessions. Now, he’s involved. We will see. The same [for Wan-Bissaka], the same.
“Thank God, this week has been good. They are recovering.”
