Hearts have pulled off a massive coup in retaining the services of talented teenage striker James Wilson, who has agreed a new two-year contract at Tynecastle.
The 16-year old has been the subject of interest from top clubs in the English Premier League such as Leeds United, as well as Celtic and Rangers closer to home. The forward has visited the facilities of a number of teams south of the border, but has decided to commit his future to the Jambos, who he joined as a nine-year old.
Since then, Wilson has gone onto score goals for fun in the youth academy, helping the Under-18s reach the Scottish Youth Cup final last year. The teenager has also made strides on the international scene, and previously captained Scotland at U-16 level in the Victory Shield. Speaking to the Hearts' club website after penning his new deal, Wilson outlined his desire to continue his development with his boyhood club. He said: "I’m delighted. I’ve been here since I was nine and come through all the way to this point. I just want to kick on now and go even further.
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"I’ve worked with the manager for a while now and know a lot of the coaches. You can see where the pathway is going with this club and it’s a great thing to see. As a young player, that’s what you want.
"You never come in as one of the best players but you work hard every day and try and become the best you can with hard work."
Hearts' sporting director Joe Savage added: “We’re absolutely delighted. It’s been a long process because James attracted a lot of interest due to his talent, and that was something we were comfortable with.
"It’s been well-documented that bigger clubs have been courting him but we knew we would put something together that would want to make him commit his future to us.
"He attracted interest and rightly so because his performances for Hearts and Scotland have been excellent. Teams are always going to take notice of that, but he’s chosen Hearts as his destination. We as a club will give him everything he needs to try and get into the first team and develop.
“We believe James is currently the best striker in his age group and the sky’s the limit for him. There’s so much to like about how he plays. He’s only going to get bigger, stronger and quicker.
"We have faith in the pathway and development of our players and James has echoed that belief by signing his contract. We think we’re on to something special here in regard to all the plans that have been put in place at the academy and we’re really excited about it.
"We hope that it showcases to other young players and their parents that this is the place to be and we can hopefully develop players that get into Hearts’ first team and eventually become Hearts legends and Scotland internationals."
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