Hearts starlet James Wilson compared to Liverpool and Manchester United talents

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Hearts teenager James Wilson became the youngest ever scorer in the Conference League last week.

The striker, 17, was the calmest person inside Tynecastle when presented with a chance to get his side back into the game against Petrocub in which they were desperately needing a win to qualify for the knockout stages.

They failed of course but still a big moment for the youngster as he fired in his third goal of the season after his rise to the first-team.

Hearts then confirmed Wilson had signed a new deal to keep him at the club until 2026, with his previous deal set to run out in the summer.

And he kept his starting place for the Jambos’ win over St Johnstone before rifling in what he thought was his fourth goal of the campaign, only to be ruled out for an offside.

He could now start in the Edinburgh derby against Hibs after scoring a late equaliser in the previous capital clash.

Wilson admitted he found his new-found Hearts fame “embarrassing” at that point.

Wilson was wanted by clubs in England before but had expressed a desire to stay at Hearts where he could see a pathway into the first team.

Manager Neil Critchley, who has a track record of developing young players, has now spoken in glowing terms about the prodigy.

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Critchley compares Wilson to Liverpool and Man Utdprospects

Critchley started out as a youth coach at Crewe Alexandra, where he worked with Nick Powell, whom he classes as the best young player he’s worked with and went on to sign for Manchester United.

The Hearts boss went on to Liverpool where he coached talents like Ryan Kent, Harry Wilson, Jerome Sinclair and Sergi Canos.

He insists Wilson has all the characteristics, including mentality and willingness to learn, as those players.

Critchley told the Edinburgh News: “Yes, I have worked with some very good strikers and attacking players in my time at Liverpool and at Crewe. We had some really good young ones..

“I’ve seen players get chances at 17 and 18 years of age. One of the things that gives them the best chance is their mentality. Are they coachable? Are they learners? Do they want to learn? What’s their mentality like?

“James has got all of those characteristics, he’s got all those qualities, so we’re delighted he’s here. He had a contract extension last week, but I can assure you we’ll keep his feet on the ground as well.

“Some of the players I worked with were more like wingers – Harry Wilson, Ryan Kent, Sergi Canos. We had Ben Woodburn, too. Jerome Sinclair was a very good player, he got his debut at 16.

“So there are guys who went on and on. There are some really good ones. One of the best ever I had was at Crewe, a boy called Nick Powell [now at Stockport County].

“He was 18 and got sold to Manchester United for £3m. He should have gone and done better in my opinion, because the boy had everything.”

What Critchley said when Wilson signed Hearts deal

Wilson signed his Hearts extension last week and Critchley said: “It’s great news that James’ contract has been extended and it is fully merited.

“He’s made a big impact in the first team squad this season and has already scored some important goals.

“It is especially pleasing that James has come through our youth system and credit has to go to our academy coaching staff for guiding him to the point of being ready for top level football.

“James shows a willingness to learn and improve on the training pitch every day. We’re delighted he’ll continue his development at Hearts and hopefully he can keep giving the supporters some big moments to cheer in the future.”