Tottenham are surely regretting James Wilson decision as new footage emerges

Tottenham's decision to turn down a permanent move for Hearts striker James Wilson could come back to bite them as he shines for club and country.

Wilson's emergence into Hearts' first-team squad saw him bag five goals in 24 Premiership games at 17-years-old in 2024-25.

His lack of senior game time last season saw the Premiership side loan him to Tottenham in January, as he linked up with their under-21 squad.

Wilson, now 19, impressed in his short stint at Spurs, but failed to make a senior appearance and returned to Tynecastle in the summer.

Tottenham decided against signing him for £2.5 million, which could prove to be a mistake as his stock continues to rise with Hearts and Scotland.

He has impressed for the Jambos at the start of this campaign and recently caught the eye on the international stage with another goal for Scotland's under-21s.

James Wilson could have been a future star for Tottenham

Wilson bagged four goals in 11 appearances for Spurs u21s last season as he honed his skills in the Premier League 2.

Many doubted the move, including then-Hearts manager Derek McInnes, as he was unlikely to ever break into the Tottenham first team amid their battle to survive relegation.

Spurs ultimately decided against signing him permanently, but he is surely already worth more than their £2.5m buy option after such a strong start to the campaign.

Wilson has scored five goals in 10 appearances for Hearts this season, and continued an impressive campaign with a fifth strike in his ninth Scotland u21 cap against Azerbaijan on Wednesday night.

Spurs are struggling for goals as it stands and would surely have benefitted from having an emerging talent like the 19-year-old in their ranks this season.

Wilson looks destined for the top of the game as he impresses for club and country, but will surely turn down a potential return to Spurs in the future after being snubbed so early in his career.

What has Wilson said about his Tottenham spell?

The five-month spell at Spurs has clearly made Wilson a better striker as he looks to take his game to another level this season.

He insisted as much during an interview in August, proving that Tottenham could have made a major mistake in failing to secure his services on a permanent basis.

Asked about his spell in North London, Wilson said: "Obviously everyone looks at that move going down south as: ‘You’re going down to play Under-21s football.’ I got the experience of training with their first team, being on the bench, the facilities, the physical nature of it, the link-up play especially. There are loads of things that I picked up on but you're surrounded by amazing players. They are world-class players getting to play in the Premier League, playing in the World Cup. You learn loads.

“I was in and out [of first-team training]. Under Igor Tudor especially, I was in quite a lot. Then, with [Roberto] De Zerbi, we just kind of helped them a little bit more, but you're still around it. It was four months for me. There were about 10 games in that period - or I can get the experience of going down and training with a good Premier League side. They've got some world-class players. I feel like I'm a better player for it coming back. I’m just hoping I can show that now.”