Goal-scoring prodgy Wilson on verge of first team
Teenage Hearts striker James Wilson is poised to push for a first-team place next season after making rapid progress in recent months. He has jumped from the club’s under-18 squad to the B team and into the senior side in the last year and will get the chance to cement himself in head coach Steven Naismith’s group this summer.
Wilson rejected interest from English Premier League sides to sign his first professional contract with Hearts last year. He made his debut as a 16-year-old in January’s Scottish Cup win at Spartans. Now 17, he’s been training with the first team at Riccarton every day and is developing steadily.
Naismith has watched Wilson closely at B team level and told the Edinburgh News: “James has progressed this season and from about September onwards he has trained every day with the first team. He has been involved in all the bounce games, which is probably a bit quicker than what he was ready for. Knowing his character and the type of player he is, we felt he would jump up.
“Now, when you watch him in training, he is like a first-team player. He moves about like a firstteam player, his touch is there, he doesn’t get caught on the ball, he makes the right passes and he has a calmness. I still think he needs games.”
Wilson has scored 11 times in six B team games since the turn of the year. “If James goes through pre-season, does well and makes it into the first team squad, my expectation is that he would be part of the first team and would be considered for each game,” said Naismith.