Hearts fend off interest north and south of border to re-sign highly talented youngster

Highly-promising youngster James Wilson has signed a new contract to remain with Hearts, the Tynecastle club announced on Friday afternoon.
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Wilson has committed his future to the club he’s been with since he was nine years old, agreeing to a two-year deal with the option of a third.

The 16-year-old looked to be heading out of Edinburgh after it was reported in recent weeks that interest was heating up in his services from clubs both north and south of the border.

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Described as a talented marksmen with a strong all-round attacking game, Wilson visited clubs in England as he mulled over his decision. Hearts would only have been due a modest training compensation fee had he decided to move elsewhere.

Hearts youngster James Wilson has signed a new contract with the club. Picture: Hearts FCHearts youngster James Wilson has signed a new contract with the club. Picture: Hearts FC
Hearts youngster James Wilson has signed a new contract with the club. Picture: Hearts FC

Speaking to the club website, he laid out his reasons why he decided to remain in maroon and white.

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.

“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.

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“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.”

Sporting director Joe Savage said: “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.

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“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.”

Wilson’s extension follows that of Bobby McLuckie and Macaulay Tait, another couple of academy graduates who signed three and two-year extensions, respectively.

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