The Rise Of Marc Wilson

Last updated : 03 November 2009 By Jim Bonner
Pompey aren't known for developing promising youth prospects but Marc Wilson is a player who is beginning to make himself noticed in the Premier League.

Wilson played for Manchester United youths before joining Portsmouth in 2004 at the age of 17 and has steadily developed his game after loan spells at Yeovil, Bournemouth and Luton before finally making his Pompey debut last season.

Now at the age of 22, the Northern Irishman's time has come to cement his place in the Pompey team after the exodus of players in the summer. It's safe to say that he has had a shaky start to the campaign but he is growing in confidence and has shown that he has what it takes to be a competent Premier League defender.

But can he continue to develop and just how far can he go?

People might say that he isn't good enough as a 22-year-old to develop into a truly great player but defenders often take longer to grow in stature than say, a striker because there is (arguably) more to learn about the game when playing at the back rather than playing up front.

He is still years before his prime and still has plenty to learn but since the season has started he has ironed out some of the mistakes he made and is even showing some confidence when he dummies a striker now and again (though I know that we're all waiting for that to go wrong!)

Wilson is also catching the eye of the Irish, with some of their fans suggesting that Giovanni Trappatoni select him for their next friendly. (For the record, Wilson can play for the Republic of Ireland because of his grandfather, and he has always supported them so chose to represent them over Northern Ireland at youth level.)