Exclusive: James Wilson's Hearts debut fires ambition after Rangers, Celtic, Man Utd and Leeds interest

James Wilson waits patiently to do this interview whilst other media duties take place. He will learn with experience that it's normally the sportsman who keeps the journalist hanging about, but at 16 years old his courtesy is most welcome. He is no ordinary teenager, underlined by the fact he just made a competitive Hearts debut in the Scottish Cup.

Many 16-year-olds are at home on the Playstation slurping energy drinks rather than running about with Craig Gordon, Beni Baningime and Stephen Kingsley. For Wilson, this is daily life. He signed a professional contract at Riccarton last summer after talks with English clubs Manchester United and Leeds United. There was also interest from Celtic and Rangers.

The young striker put his faith in Hearts' promise to fast-track him to first team level and was rewarded on Saturday. A 30-minute substitute appearance left him understandably high on adrenaline. Around 3,500 fans packed into Ainslie Park and huddled behind barriers almost within touching distance of players. A traditional cup atmosphere ensured as Hearts forced a 2-1 win.

Wilson coped well up against physically superior opponents. His slender frame and boyish appearance mask an inner confidence. It's like talking to someone aged 22 or 23 rather than a kid not long out of full-time high school. You begin to understand why he has captained Scotland at under-16 and under-17 level, and why big clubs covet his services. He is not only a talented footballer but also a mature individual with a level-headed outlook.

"I've been on the bench a few times now so I've been waiting for my chance. I'm just buzzing now, really happy," he tells the Edinburgh News in his first newspaper interview. "It was probably a tough time to come on against Spartans. We were 1-0 ahead, then it went to 1-1, but to get a 2-1 win and be on the pitch in front of the fans is where you want to be. That's where anyone wants to be.

"I was sent on and told to find space to get the ball. Because I'm small, I was told not to take too much contact and to move the ball quickly. Then I was to get in the box and try to get a goal - be the winner, possibly. That never happened. I had a couple of chances but I'll be waiting for a goal next time, hopefully."

It could all have gone so wrong when James Craigen volleyed Spartans level just four minutes after Wilson's introduction. "It was a weird situation. You think, as a young player, you are going to come into a really comfortable scenario," admits the teenager. "Once you're there, it feels like a usual game. You are trying your best, trying to win it and compete to help the team.

"Having Craigy [Gordon], Halks [Craig Halkett] and everybody around me, it helps a lot. You know where to be from watching them. The spaces on the pitch seem to be obvious when you are playing with these experienced players. I still can't believe it. I've been working really hard and been around the first team a lot more recently. Just being on the pitch in front of fans is the best feeling. You just want to make them happy. I want to do something for them and try to excite them. Hopefully I can do more of that in future."

Delving deeper into Wilson's psyche reveals an impressive sense of perspective and foresight for one so young. Illustrious clubs in Scotland and England pursued him hard last summer and he travelled south to suss a couple out. Ultimately he chose to stay and continue developing at Hearts. He is more than able to articulate the reasons.

"As a young player coming through at under-15 and under-16, you start to hear of the interest. You watch these big teams on TV and you think: 'Wow. These big teams are coming and they are interested.' But they can't offer first-team situations. Being in and around the first team is exactly why I chose to stay at Hearts. You can be there and learn from Shanks [Lawrence Shankland], Boycie [Liam Boyce], and guys who play at the top level. The players play international football. I wouldn't have got that exposure going down south."

He talks about established international team-mates like they're his school pals, which probably highlights how comfortable he feels on the pitch beside them. Had Wilson gone to Manchester United or Leeds, he certainly wouldn't have sampled the FA Cup with the first team. "I'd be playing under-18 football," he admits. "It's that kind of fast-track. You need to back yourself, obviously, but if you do well up here there is a quicker route to getting to the top of the game. That is ultimately where I want to be."

He views each day at Riccarton as a learning experience and, if anything, the weekend debut has further fired his ambitions. "I learn different points of the game from all the lads. I'm a smaller player, I'm only 16, so I'm not going to be able to compete against these big guys physically. I need to be smarter, watch other players like Shanks, Boycie, Tagawa, and see how they move. I look at how they conduct themselves on the pitch to create space. Once I've got the space I need to trust myself that I can produce - that I can score goals and excite the fans."

It's a lot of responsibility at 16 to please a demanding support base numbering tens of thousands. "I know, you've got to back yourself," insists Wilson. "As a footballer, that's what you want to do and where you want to be. You get a big kick out of exciting fans and scoring goals."

He has perhaps the ideal mentor in Steven Naismith. The Hearts head coach was a forward in his playing days and is of smaller stature himself. He became perfectly adept at finding space and evading bigger defenders. Naismith built a career the envy of many with Kilmarnock, Rangers, Everton, Norwich City, Hearts and Scotland.

"He has played at the highest level. I've known Naisy for a while now, I had him as a coach at under-18s, I had him with the B team, so that relationship is there," explains Wilson."I can ask him questions constantly and he will give me his honest opinion. He trusts that I will take it the right way and learn from it."