James Wilson has proved this season at Hearts that he has a massive future ahead of him.
The 17-year-old wonderkid has five goals in all competitions for the Jambos this season having broke onto the scene in the Edinburgh derby draw against Hibs in October.
Hailed by Steven Naismith for his football intelligence and compared to some Liverpool and Manchester United academy starlets by current boss Neil Critchley, Wilson has a big fanbase.
Not least the Hearts supporters who sang his name before he stepped up to take the first penalty as Hearts beat St Mirren on spot-kicks in the Scottish Cup last Monday.
Wilson smashed his penalty in with supreme confidence and it left veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon seriously impressed.
Still at school, Wilson signed a new Hearts contract just before Christmas that keeps him at Tynecastle until 2026.
He already has 22 senior Hearts appearances under his belt with many more to come. And it’s been revealed that his agency PLG want him to get to the magic 100 before he even thinks about moving away from Gorgie.
Joe Savage on PLG’s plan for Hearts kid James Wilson
Former Hearts sporting director Joe Savage has been speaking to The Herald and touched on Wilson as part of a wider conversation about B teams in Scotland.
Savage says if it wasn’t for Hearts B’s inclusion into the Lowland League, Wilson’s pathway to the first-team would have been much more challenging.
He labelled Wilson ‘special’ before divulging PLG’s plan for the youngster. Wilson has already turned down the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa and Leeds United – and that appears to make more sense given Savage’s revelation.
Savage said of Wilson: “He’s the special one, isn’t he? PLG, they are his agency, and they have helped massively with his development.
“They’re really big on helping player development in Scotland. Their attitude is, play 100 games in Scotland, then look at getting your big move.
“If you look at their client list, Andy Robertson, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Christie, they’ve got so many good players that have done that.
“They’ve developed players in Scotland and then they have kicked on once they’ve got the move down south.
“They’ve actually said to players, ‘we don’t want to move you just now, play 100 games, then get your move’.
“Myself, Robbie Neilson and Frankie McAvoy, we met James’ parents for an Italian to go over what we planned to do and we just faced this massive competition.
“Celtic were trying to get him, Rangers were trying to get him, Aston Villa, Leeds, Man United, they were all trying to get him.
“But James has a very, very mature head on his shoulders. He’s seen the pathway, which was great for us. At 17, he was ready to go into that first team environment and compete at that level.
“But I could honestly say to you right now that if it wasn’t for the B team, then a few of the others wouldn’t have managed to push through into that first team.
“It just wouldn’t have happened, because for most kids the jump from the 18s to the first team is too big a jump.
“It’s the best thing the club’s done. For Hearts, it’s been an absolute blessing.”
PLG’s glittering track record
As Savage alludes to, Liverpool full-back and Scotland captain Andy Robertson is PLG’s shining rags to riches example of developing in Scotland before moving on to bigger things.
Robertson played 87 games for Queen’s Park and Dundee United combined, which earned him a switch to EFL Championship side Hull City.
His progress continued and it caught the eye of Liverpool in 2016. He’s become an Anfield hero since then having now made 329 appearances for the Premier League giants.
Stuart Armstrong had a strong Premier League career too, with Ryan Christie currently excelling at AFC Bournemouth in England’s top-flight.
It’s clear Wilson has a big chance under the guidance of PLG to get the very best out of his career.