| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 6 March 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Number | 21 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2024 | Heart of Midlothian | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024– | Heart of Midlothian | 29 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2022 | Northern Ireland U17 [1] | 1 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Scotland U16 [2] | 7 | (3) |
| 2023 | Scotland U17 [3] | 4 | (2) |
| 2024– | Scotland U19 [2] | 1 | (0) |
| 2025– | Scotland [2] | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 24 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 28 October 2024 | |||
James Wilson (born 6 March 2007) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Scottish Premiership club Heart of Midlothian and the Scotland national team. [4] Wilson also represented Northern Ireland at under-17 level.
Wilson grew up in Linlithgow [5] and attended Balerno High School in Edinburgh. [6] His twin brothers Alfie and Stanley also developed at the Hearts academy, [7] and have appeared for the club's B-team in the Lowland League in 2025. [8]
Wilson signed a first professional contract with Heart of Midlothian in the summer of 2023. [9] He broke through into first team during the 2023-24 season, making three appearances as a substitute, whilst also playing for the Hearts B-team in the Lowland League. [10] He made his professional debut as a 16-year-old in the Scottish Cup on 20 January 2024 in a 2–1 away win against The Spartans. [9] [11] [12] He then made his Scottish Premiership debut against Dundee in May 2024. [13]
He scored his first league goal for Hearts in October 2024 in a 4–0 win over St Mirren; [14] the following week he made headlines with a late equaliser in the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian on 27 October 2024, which finished 1–1. [15] [16]
On 19 December 2024, in a UEFA Conference League game against Petrocub Hîncești, Wilson became the youngest goalscorer in the competition's four-year history, and the all-time youngest scorer for Hearts in any European fixture, [17] at the age of 17 years and 288 days. [18] He subsequently signed a contract extension until the summer of 2026. [19] He was sent off for the first time on 6 April 2025, for a late sliding tackle on Luca Stephenson of Dundee United. [20] [21]
Having come on as a substitute against the Faroe Islands for the Northern Ireland under-17s in 2022 [22] (being eligible at that stage, as well as for England and the Republic of Ireland, through his parents), [1] Wilson went on to captain Scotland at under-16 and under-17 levels. [9]
In March 2025 he received his first call up for the senior Scotland squad for the UEFA Nations League play-off against Greece; [23] He made his full international debut in the second leg of the tie, becoming the youngest man to play for Scotland at the age of 18 years, 17 days (surpassing the record set by John Lambie which had stood for 138 years). [24] [25] [1]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heart of Midlothian | 2023–24 [27] | Scottish Premiership | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024–25 [28] | Scottish Premiership | 24 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 32 | 6 | |
| 2025–26 [28] | Scottish Premiership | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
| Total | 29 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 8 | ||
| Career total | 29 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 42 | 8 | ||