Exciting young defender James Hill arrived on a permanent deal from Fleetwood Town in January 2022.
Born in Bristol, Hill is the son of former Bristol City, Preston North End and Sheffield United defender Matt Hill. He’s also related to former Cherries loanee Scott Golbourne.
A physical centre-back with a long throw, Hill signed for Fleetwood in 2016 after time spent with Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers.
He made his senior debut against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup aged just 16, making him Fleetwood’s youngest ever player.
Hill’s true breakthrough came in the 2020/21 season, making 35 appearances in all competitions.
The 19-year-old continued as a first-team regular in 2021/22, playing 15 times and netting his first senior goal in a 2-2 draw with Cambridge United in September 2021.
He made his debut for England under-20s in the same month, winning the first of three caps against Romania at St George’s Park.
Hill was given the captain’s armband as he came off the bench to score against Czech Republic in November, and was rewarded with his first call-up to Lee Carsley’s under-21s squad, albeit a knee injury forced him to withdraw.
AFC Bournemouth beat off a host of competition to sign the highly coveted defender, agreeing a four-and-a-half year contract to become Scott Parker's first signing of the January window.
Hill made his club debut as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Barnsley at Oakwell, coming on late in the second half to help the ten-men Cherries to three points.
In his debut season at the club, Hill made two appearances in all competitions.
While game time continued to prove limited in the 2022/23 season, the defender was making a good impression behind-the-scenes.
In January 2023, he joined Scottish Premiership side Heart of Midlothian on a loan deal until the end of the season.
He made his England under-21 debut in June 2022, playing in a 5-0 victory over Kosovo in a 2023 European Championship qualifier.
KIT SPONSOR: Abacus
