Daniel Potts (born 13 April 1994) is an English professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who plays as a
left-back or
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
for club
Luton Town. He was
capped by the
United States under-20 team and the England
under-18,
under-19 and
under-20
Junior is a category of athletics in which athletes compete under the age of 20 years. Countries all around the world compete in athletics. World Junior Athletics Competitions are held every two years which contain the best junior competitors in ...
teams.
Club career
West Ham United
Born in
Barking, Greater London,
[ Potts joined West Ham United aged nine and signed as a scholar in May 2010. He made his reserve team debut away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on 27 April 2011, and his senior debut on 17 December in a 1–0 victory at home to ]Barnsley
Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...
, just one day after signing a two-and-a-half-year professional contract with the club. He received the Young Hammer of the Year award in May 2012 after making four appearances in 2011–12, in which West Ham were promoted
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
back to the Premier League after a 2–1 win over Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
in the 2012 Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
in the FA Cup third round two days later. He made his full Premier League debut in a 3–0 defeat away to Sunderland
Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on 12 January, in which he made an error that led to the second goal. Potts came on as a 62nd-minute substitute for Jack Collison
Jack David Collison (born 2 October 1988) is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is the head coach for Huntsville City in MLS Next Pro.
Collison began his career with Peterborough United's youth system in 1998, before moving to Camb ...
in a 5–1 defeat away to Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
on 23 January but suffered concussion
A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...
after a clash of heads with Bacary Sagna
Bacary Sagna (born 14 February 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right back and is mostly known for his time at Arsenal. He also played for the France national football team.
Sagna's former manager at Arsenal, ...
. He was released from hospital the next day and played no further part in 2012–13
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...
.[
He signed for ]League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
club Portsmouth on a one-month loan on 20 November 2013. Potts debuted three days later in a 2–1 defeat to Scunthorpe United
Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...
at Fratton Park
Fratton Park is a football ground in Portsmouth, England, which is the home of Portsmouth F.C. Fratton Park remains as the only home football ground in Portsmouth FC's entire history.
The early Fratton Park was designed by local architect A ...
. He returned to West Ham in December, having made five appearances for Portsmouth.
Potts made his first and only appearance of 2014–15 in the League Cup second round at home to Sheffield United on 26 August 2014, which West Ham lost 5–4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 1–1 draw after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
.[ He was released by West Ham at the end of the season after 12 years at the club.
]
Luton Town
Following his release by West Ham, Potts signed for League Two club Luton Town on a two-year contract. He made his debut in a 3–1 win at home to newly promoted Championship club Bristol City
Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
in the League Cup first round on 11 August 2015. Potts suffered a hamstring injury at the end of August, making his return in a 2–1 defeat away to League One team Gillingham in the Football League Trophy second round on 6 October. He replaced Scott Griffiths
Scott Robert Griffiths (born 27 November 1985) is a retired English professional footballer who played as a full-back
most notably for Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
He has played in the Football League for Dagenham & Redbridge, Peterborough Unit ...
in the team after Griffiths' wife gave birth to their son, making four league appearances in October.[ However, in the last of these matches, a 2–1 defeat at home to ]Plymouth Argyle
Plymouth Argyle Football Club is a professional football club based in the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the team are competing in League One, the third tier of English football. They have played at Home Park, ...
, Potts picked up an injury and was substituted after 28 minutes. His next appearance did not come until 5 March 2016 when he started in a 1–0 win away to Leyton Orient in place of the injured Jake Howells. Potts then started the next two matches, but sustained an ankle injury during the latter match, a 1–0 win away to Plymouth Argyle. He made his return from injury on 9 April, starting in Luton's 2–0 defeat at home to Accrington Stanley. Potts retained his place in the team for the remainder of 2015–16 and finished the season with 16 appearances.[ In the final of the ]2022–23 EFL Championship
The 2022–23 EFL Championship (referred to as the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the 19th season of the Football League Championship under its current title and the 31st season under its current league division format.
The seas ...
playoffs, Potts scored the winning penalty goal against Coventry. This put Luton in the 2023–24 Premier League
The 2023–24 Premier League is the 32nd season of the Premier League and 125th season of English football overall. The fixtures were announced on 15 June 2023 at 09:00 BST. Manchester City are the three-time defending champions, and can beco ...
.
International career
As his father was born in the United States, Potts was presumed eligible to play for both the England national football team and the United States men's national soccer team. Potts was invited and took part in a United States under-20 camp in 2011. He made his debut for the United States under-20 team as a substitute, playing 21 minutes in a 2–1 defeat to France in a friendly
Friendly may refer to:
Places
* Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England
* Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States
* ...
in Vichy. However, in April 2012, U.S. Soccer officials determined that Potts was not eligible for U.S. citizenship, as his father did not meet residency requirements to pass along citizenship to his son, meaning he could no longer play for the United States at any level.
Potts played the first half for the England under-18 team in a 3–0 win over Poland at Crewe's Alexandra Stadium
Gresty Road or the Alexandra Stadium, currently known as the Mornflake Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Crewe, Cheshire, England. The home ground of Crewe Alexandra, it has an all-seated capacity of 10,153.
History
Cre ...
on 7 March 2012. Later that year, he progressed to the England under-19 team, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over Finland in a friendly on 13 November. On 21 March 2013, Potts played another full 90 minutes in a 1–0 win over Turkey.
On 28 May 2013, he was named in manager Peter Taylor's 21-man squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup
The 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the nineteenth edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. It ran from 21 June to 13 July 2013. At the FIFA Executive Meeting in Zürich on 3 March 2011, ...
. Potts made his England under-20 team debut in a warm-up match on 16 June as a 45th-minute substitute in a 3–0 win over Uruguay. He played the full 90 minutes of England's first Group E Group E may refer to:
* E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements
* Group E (vase painting) Group E (or E Group) was a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style. They were a ...
match, a 2–2 draw with Iraq on 23 June. Three days later, Potts conceded a penalty as England drew 1–1 with Chile. After receiving a yellow card in the first two group matches, Potts was suspended for the final group match against Egypt, which England lost 2–0, and were eliminated from the competition after failing to win a match.
Personal life
Potts is the son of former West Ham United captain Steve Potts Steve Potts may refer to:
*Steve Potts (jazz musician) (born 1943), American jazz saxophonist
* Steve Potts (footballer) (born 1967), American-born English football coach and former professional footballer
*Steve Potts (drummer)
Booker T. & t ...
and attended Marshalls Park School in Romford. His brother, Freddie, made his first-team debut for West Ham in December 2021.
At the age of 12, Potts was diagnosed with leukaemia.[
]
Career statistics
Honours
Luton Town
*EFL Championship play-offs
The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , t ...
: 2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
*EFL League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
runner-up: 2017–18
*EFL League One
The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...
: 2018–19
Individual
*Young Hammer of the Year: 2011–12[
*]PFA Team of the Year
The Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year (often called the PFA Team of the Year, or simply the Team of the Year) is an annual award given to a set of 55 footballers across the top four tiers of men's English football; the Premie ...
: 2017–18 League Two
References
External links
Profile
at the Luton Town F.C. website
Profile
at the Football Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potts, Dan
1994 births
Living people
Footballers from Barking, London
English men's footballers
England men's youth international footballers
American men's soccer players
United States men's under-20 international soccer players
Men's association football defenders
West Ham United F.C. players
Colchester United F.C. players
Portsmouth F.C. players
Luton Town F.C. players
Premier League players
English Football League players
English people of American descent