English giants take the Scotland international south
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Tottenham Hotspur are poised to sign Hearts teenager James Wilson ahead of Arsenal. Both London clubs made moves for the striker in the last 48 hours and Spurs are now firm favourites to secure his signature before the English transfer window closes at 7pm tonight. An initial loan deal with the option of a permanent transfer this summer has been agreed with Hearts and Wilson is heading to London to finalise the move.
Tottenham negotiated the loan and future fee with Tynecastle officials ahead of Arsenal and they are now preparing for 18-year-old Wilson’s arrival. The clause is an option rather than an obligation at the end of the season, meaning both parties can suss one another out before deciding if they wish to make the loan deal permanent.
Wilson will initially join Tottenham’s under-21 squad and aim to develop his game there with the potential to break into the senior squad in future. Hearts were in no rush to move him on but are willing to do business after Spurs put forward an acceptable offer of a loan fee and future transfer fee for the end of the season, should they wish to utilise that option.
Hearts agreed to let the Riccarton academy graduate leave even though captain Lawrence Shankland is injured until March. They are searching for a striker themselves but head coach Derek McInnes was not hopeful of signing one before tonight’s deadline.
Wilson’s Hearts contract runs until 2027 and he is keen to play more regularly at first-team level. That would be extremely unlikely right now should he complete a move to the English Premier League. He is viewed as a player who can develop in time to come. The forward would ideally like to continue playing senior football to enhance his game, but the lure of England’s top flight is tempting.
Already a Scotland full internationalist after coming through the Hearts youth development system, Wilson made his first appearance for his country last March against Greece at Hampden Park. He is highly regarded by a number of top clubs across Britain and spoke to Manchester United and Aston Villa before signing professional terms with Hearts at the age of 16.
Wilson has managed 10 appearances for Hearts so far this season but remains down the pecking order when it comes to attacking places. Shankland, Landry Kabore, Claudio Braga and Elton Kabangu are all ahead of the young Scot. He started three of the Edinburgh club’s four League Cup group stage matches in July last year, but since then he has only made the starting line-up once. That was against Motherwell in August. He is eager to find an option that grants him more game time.
Hearts will continue their own striker search up until the transfer window closes. McInnes stated after Saturday’s win at Dundee United that he was not confident of bringing in another forward in such a short space of time. Tynecastle officials are also aware of some clubs monitoring winger Alan Forrest ahead of the deadline.