Hearts have announced that teenager James Wilson has agreed a two-year contract at Tynecastle, with the option of a further year.
The Jambos have fended off significant interest from Celtic and Rangers and clubs from down south to retain the services of the talented centre-forward.
A prolific marksman at academy level, Wilson is a talented member of the Hearts youth team - helping the U18s reach the Scottish Youth Cup final in 2022 as well as captaining Scotland U16s at the Victory Shield.
Despite visiting facilities at a number of English clubs, Wilson has explained why he decided to extend his stay with Hearts.
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.
“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 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.”
