Hearts FC

James Wilson has completed a loan move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 18-year-old heads south to join the English Premier League outfit’s U21 side until the end of this season, subject to international clearance and Scottish FA approval.

The terms of the loan move include an option to buy, for an undisclosed fee, on Spurs’ part.

James rose to prominence last season with an Edinburgh derby strike and went on to win a full Scotland cap.

He’s pulled on the maroon jersey on 45 occasions, scoring eight goals.

Everyone at Hearts wishes James the best of luck at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Supporters attending Wednesday night’s pre-season friendly against Tottenham Hotspur, presented by LNER, should read the following information.

Key Info

Tickets: Remain on sale from the Hearts Ticket Office or online at Hearts e tickets. We kindly ask supporters purchasing tickets online to select the digital delivery option, to reduce pre-match queues.

Kick-off: 7pm

Turnstiles open: 6pm

Ticket Office hours: 10am until kick-off. Please get here early to avoid collection queues.

Clubstore hours: Open from 9am-KO

Eighteen74 Bar (Main Stand): Open from 5pm to match ticket holders.

TV: Live on Hearts TV International, PPV for UK & Ireland residents, audio only commentary also available inside UK & Ireland. Please note that the PPV, nor the Hearts TV international stream, will be available in the following territories; Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, USA, Norway and Sweden.

Prior to kick-off, as part of the clubs 150th celebrations, players from both sides that featured in the 1974 centenary match between the two clubs will be welcomed onto the pitch, as current players form a guard of honour.

The players will then gather round a Dave Mackay roundel, which will be positioned in the centre circle for a minutes applause as both sides pay tribute to a legend of both clubs.

We kindly ask supporters to take their seats prior to the minutes applause and thank all fans for their co-operation.

Tickets

Tickets are still available for supporters to purchase from the Hearts Ticket Office, or online at Hearts e-tickets. We kindly ask supporters still to purchase tickets to select the digital delivery option to limit the queues at the Ticket Office on matchday.

Turnstiles will open at 6pm.

Supporters are encouraged to arrive early so as to avoid queuing and help ease the flow of people into the stadium.

Home supporters are reminded that they can enter via the Wheatfield and Gorgie Stand turnstiles regardless of which of these two stands they are seated in.

All turnstiles have been upgraded. The unmanned turnstiles now feature a front-facing reader that is compatible with season ticket cards, match tickets, and scanning digital tickets via your smartphone/electronic device. Simply hold your season card/ticket in front of the reader to scan the QR code/barcode, wait for the go-ahead and push your way through the turnstile.

Searching is a condition of entry and refusal to cooperate will result in refused entry.

Anyone deemed to have consumed excessive amounts of alcohol will be refused entry, and supporters are reminded not to attempt to bring any prohibited items into the stadium, including pyrotechnics.

Unacceptable conduct will result in ejection from the stadium and any supporter who has been ejected will face sanctions in accordance with our unacceptable conduct policy.

Eighteen74 Bar

The Eighteen74 Bar will be open from 5pm for match ticket holders.

Stadium Kiosks

Kiosks will be open throughout the stadium, please note kiosks only accept card payments.

Match Programme

Our first programme of the new season is a special 100-page edition for our two friendlies against Leyton Orient and Tottenham Hotspur. The issue includes various historical features about the clubs’ ties with both London clubs, as well as the latest from the Hearts men’s team, women’s team and B team, including an interview with new signing Blair Spittal.

The programme is available to purchase from sellers situated around the stadium.

TV

The match will be live on Hearts TV PPV.

Please note that the PPV, nor the Hearts TV international stream, will be available in the following territories; Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, USA, Norway and Sweden.

Hearts continue preparations for the 2024/25 campaign by hosting Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

The glamour friendly, presented by LNER, kicks off at 7pm and will give fans the chance to welcome back Lawrence Shankland and Zander Clark to Gorgie, with new Costa Rican international signing Gerald Taylor also in contention to be involved.

The likes of South Korean superstar Son Heung-min is expected to travel with the Spurs squad, and tickets for the encounter remain on sale and can be purchased by clicking here.

For those unable to attend the game in person, Hearts TV will be broadcasting the match live on PPV, priced at £12.99.

Please note that the PPV, nor the Hearts TV international stream, will be available in the following territories; Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, USA, Norway and Sweden.

Steven Naismith believes Wednesday’s glamour friendly against Tottenham Hotspur will provide the perfect test for his players.

The Jambos are into the full swing of pre-season now with one friendly under the belt following Saturday’s meeting with Leyton Orient at Tynecastle.

Premier League giants Spurs are up next, with the Hearts boss underlining the importance of playing quality opposition ahead of a blockbuster season for the club on the domestic and continental front.

“It’s about getting as many minutes into the players as possible, as well as putting them in situations where they feel pressure,” he told the media ahead of the game.

“We have the friendly on Wednesday and then another behind closed doors on Saturday. We’ll then get to a stage where the sharpness returns and then the match sharpness comes, with the mistakes reducing after that.

“I’m expecting to see a few of their bigger names based off who was away on internationals and who wasn’t. The quality of their side will undoubtedly be at a high level. Defensively, we’ll have to really be switched on.

“Just like in big games in Scotland and Europe, you do need to be switched on when you don’t have the ball. That will one of the key areas we need to focus on.

“Ange Postecoglou’s teams are always full of energy, right the way through pre-season. We’ll need to deal with that and, hopefully, have the ball for periods where we can deal with that pressure.”

Various members of the first team squad had a busy summer representing their countries on the international stage, with players jetting off to compete in Euro 2024, the Copa America, and friendlies.

The boss confirmed that most of the players are now back in the building as the pre-season program ramps up.

“Kenneth’s not back yet and has a wee bit more time off, but Gerald is in. Due to his work visa, he has to be in the country so he’s into full training now,” he explained.

“Shanks and Zander are back in with the group from this morning having returned to the building whilst we were away in Tenerife. The most important thing for them was rest and they’ll probably be ahead of most of the boys in terms of fitness after being away with Scotland.”

If you happened to walk by a park in Linlithgow in 1974, there’s every chance you may have spotted a Hearts legend working on his game.

In a modern-day game where penalties are analysed down to the final detail by an associated farm team of analysts, data scientists, and football anoraks – legendary 70s striker Donald Ford had to rely on more homespun techniques to craft a sublime spot kick.

"I'd been practising the penalty kicks having asked Bobby Seith at the end of the previous season,” he told the Official Hearts Website.

“I thought, you know, Drew Busby and I are playing up front and, one of us, should be taking the penalties. I said to Drew and he was like 'Oh, no way' typical Glasgow, you know, 'I'm not taking penalties!’.

"So, I went away and had my two boys in a wee field near my home in Linlithgow and was practising penalties against them. I don't think they were so happy about it!"

Even if his children had to contend with hour after hour of kicks from the spot, this work proved fruitful when Hearts met Tottenham Hotspur in the early days of the 1974/75 season.

The North London giants had travelled up to Edinburgh as the Jambos celebrated their landmark centenary year. In a close fought contest, Hearts took a first half lead via a Donald Ford penalty before John Pratt salvaged a draw six minutes from time.

Against a Spurs team packed with quality players such as Pat Jennings and Steve Perryman, it was a suitably special game to toast a very special milestone in the club’s history.

"It was an interesting opening game to what turned out to be a, a really good season for us, although we didn't win anything again. It certainly wasn't for lack of effort," said Donald.

"And yeah, it was exciting to be playing a team with an awful lot of very good players. Mr. Seith, the manager, had said we don't expect them to be going 100 miles an hour or anything.

“So we came to the new season and this is my first penalty kick and when the referee blows a whistle, I'm sure any player will say the same to you, Your heart just stops and then the nerves take over.

“It's the worst minute or two minutes that a football player will go through - the guy that knows he's taking the penalty. And it doesn't matter if there's 20 people watching the game or 20,000 watching the game, you just can't stop your heart beating, you know.

“It was a great day for that centenary match in 1974, Tottenham obviously came up and played us that day and now they're returning for our 150th anniversary in 2024”

Tickets for our friendly match with Tottenham Hotspur later this month, presented by LNER, are now on general sale!

Supporters can purchase their tickets for both matches online at Hearts eTickets or in person at the Hearts Ticket Office.

View packages for Tottenham Hotspur here

Heart of Midlothian is delighted to confirm that Tottenham Hotspur will visit Tynecastle Park in a friendly match this summer, presented by LNER, as our 150th anniversary celebrations continue.

We welcome the Premier League side to Gorgie on Wednesday 17th July in a 7pm kick-off as both teams step up their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign.

Hearts and Spurs share a rich history together, with the capital clubs’ first meeting coming in 1901 as the sides played out a 0-0 draw at White Hart Lane in a World Championship match between the Scottish and English Cup winners.

Most keenly however, is the deep affection held by the two clubs for the legendary Dave Mackay. A player still remembered in reverential terms in both Edinburgh and London.

Recruited as a 16-year-old, Dave was at the core of a relentlessly successful Hearts side that claimed all of Scotland’s domestic honours across four years, with Mackay skippering the golden squad of 1957-58 which lifted the championship - scoring 132 goals and conceding just 29.

Spurs secured his services in 1959 for a £32,000 fee and quickly went on to write his name into the folklore of both Tottenham and the English game: in 268 league appearances he won the league championship, three FA Cups, one European Cup Winners' Cup and two FA Charity Shields.

Dave Mackay was pivotal in setting up Hearts’ Centenary Match with Tottenham Hotspur in 1974. It is fitting, therefore, that we meet again to celebrate our Sesquicentennial in 2024 in a spirit of enduring friendship and celebration of the legend that graced both our Clubs.

We look forward to welcoming Ange Postecoglou and his team to Tynecastle in July and more detailed match information, including ticketing for home supporters, hospitality packages and broadcast information, will be released in due course.