After Eberechi Eze’s eleventh-hour rejection of Tottenham in favour of his boyhood club Arsenal last summer, the next transfer tug-of-war between the two north London rivals was not expected to arrive this soon.
Certainly not over a Hearts striker who has only played 77 minutes in the Scottish Premiership this season.
But that is what happened on Monday, as 18-year-old James Wilson was thrust into the spotlight, assuming an unlikely leading role on transfer deadline day.
As plots go, it was possibly not the name Sky Sports News had planned to have running along the yellow ticker for 12 hours. Then again, a merry-go-round of strikers involving Jean-Philippe Mateta, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Adam Armstrong is hardly box-office cinema.
Arsenal enquired about Wilson on Sunday, with a view to adding him to their under-21 setup on loan until the end of the season, when the deal would be made permanent. It would allow the club to assess him up close while also giving the player a prolonged period to decide whether it was a good fit for his career, too. It was essentially a ‘try before you buy’ agreement.
But Arsenal were weighing up whether to recall one of their players who was out loan, in which case Wilson may not be required.
Tottenham’s interest was paired and they were able to strike a more concrete deal in the final hours of the window. The outline is similar in that Wilson will initially join on loan but rather than running the rule over the player, they agreed a formal option to buy with Hearts. If triggered in the summer, it would be a seven-figure fee with add-ons and a sell-on percentage negotiated too.
Wilson was one of two Scottish teenagers to move to the English Premier League on deadline day. Unlike Wilson, St Mirren forward Evan Rooney did make the move to Hale End, as he joined Arsenal’s Premier League 2 side in a deal worth around £400,000, which has add-ons and a sell-on percentage on top.
The exits will be difficult to swallow for supporters, with sizeable fees bagged but two local lads snapped up before they have had the chance to blossom. And not even for the glamour of a Premier League first team, for their youth team.
That sense of unfulfillment gets to the heart of an issue that Scottish football is struggling to navigate: how to platform their best youngsters early enough to maximise their development, while not losing them on the cheap to their southern neighbours.
Since Brexit was finalised in 2020, the drain of teenage talent to England has gained pace. Overnight, with the European market out of bounds until the age of 18, Scotland became the primary waters to fish in due to being inside the United Kingdom.
Over time, most Scottish clubs have come to accept that they are indefensible at 16, as players are free to leave for training compensation before they have signed a professional contract.
It is why they often grant 15-year-old academy talents permission to train with interested English clubs because an amicable move means they often receive a fee above what is stipulated in the rules.
But Wilson and Mooney are different because they are 18 and are integrated members of both first-team squads.
The original plan for Wilson to leave on loan with no obligation to buy seemed peculiar given the attention he received at 16, which Hearts were able to fight off. Even more so, given he has made 45 first-team appearances and is already capped for the Scotland national team.
But his progress has stagnated this season. He has only managed 10 appearances in all competitions this year and his last league start came in August when he was hooked at half-time in a 3-3 draw with St Mirren.
Hearts are on course to upend the Old Firm duopoly that has held since 1985 — leading Celtic and Rangers by six points with 14 games remaining — and Wilson finds himself behind Pierre Kabore, Elton Kabangu, Claudio Braga and new signing Rogers Mato in the pecking order. The Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland is also due back in around six weeks.
“He is a young player and has been restricted with minutes this season,” said his manager Derek McInnes to Sky Sports News.
“It’s tough to get in somebody’s first team at that age, and obviously James had a bit more exposure last season.
“He is such a good kid, he trains well. Would we see the benefit of a loan? Potentially yes. For him to go and get some minutes. This one was a wee bit left-field…”
There will be those who believe the youngsters should turn down the interest but neither are getting regular game time. Mooney has played 23 times this season and was involved in the Paisley club’s League Cup triumph over Celtic in December but he is only making cameo appearances off the bench.
If Scottish clubs cannot offer them that, the prospect of top-class facilities, improved money and a better guarantee of a professional career is hard to turn down.
The number of young Scottish players competing in the Premiership is staggeringly low, so fast-tracking the few who are playing senior minutes has become the strategy.
Mooney follows Callan Hamill to Arsenal, who moved from St Johnstone at 16 in the summer. Meanwhile, Wilson will have ex-Celtic prospect Conall Glancy for company at Tottenham.
You can bet they will not be the last.