Tottenham hijack Arsenal transfer as deadline day bid accepted | Football | Sport
Tottenham have outmanoeuvred London rivals Arsenal in the deadline day battle to secure Hearts striker James Wilson. The 18 year old is poised to head south this afternoon to finalise a loan agreement at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until the conclusion of the current season.
The surprising development follows Arsenal’s approach to arrange a comparable deal over the weekend. The Premier League pacesetters made preliminary contact with Tynecastle hierarchy to register their interest in bringing the youngster into their development setup until the campaign’s end.
The Daily Record claim that Arsenal sought to assess Wilson closely by providing him with consistent playing opportunities in their under-21 side before determining whether to table a permanent bid.
However, earlier today, they revealed that the Scottish Premiership outfit had declined to sanction that transfer without a substantial fee being settled beforehand.
Those discussions remained stalled for 24 hours, allowing Spurs the opportunity to surge ahead in the race.
Record Sport understands Tottenham have consented to pay a considerable upfront loan fee whilst also finalising terms for a potential sum should they opt to make the switch permanent this summer.
Spurs have agreed to terms which provide them with an option to purchase Wilson permanently without any compulsion to complete the transaction. But their readiness to guarantee the potential financial boost has been sufficient to persuade Hearts into sanctioning a deal for a player who has already earned recognition with Scotland at senior international level.
Manager Derek McInnes would have been content for Wilson to remain at Tynecastle and compete for a starting berth as the Jambos pursue a historic championship triumph.
However, the youngster has spent the majority of the campaign observing from the substitutes’ bench with McInnes favouring more seasoned alternatives to spearhead his forward line.
McInnes now appears destined to be one attacking option lighter for the rest of the season with no suggestion that the manager will receive support to bring in Wilson’s replacement before the transfer window shuts at 11pm.
