ANDONI Iraola believes James Hill will be “valuable” to Cherries following his “very good loan” spell with Blackburn Rovers.
Hill, who joined Cherries for around £1million from Fleetwood Town in January 2022, headed to the Championship with Rovers at the start of this season in search of more regular game-time.
And the defender got exactly that, establishing himself in the first team and making 20 appearances.
It is understood the 22-year-old was keen to remain at the Lancashire club for the rest of the season, but due to defensive injuries in their squad, Cherries opted to recall him early.
Hill made his first Premier League start soon after, as a left-back against Liverpool, before being forced off with an ankle injury.
Following almost two months on the sidelines, Hill is now back available again and came on during the closing stages of last week’s crazy 4-3 win over Luton Town.
The former England under-21 international has now made eight competitive appearances in total for Cherries, and was a key part of pre-season after the arrival of Iraola last summer.
Discussing Hill’s early return to the club from Blackburn, Iraola told the Daily Echo: “I watched a couple of his games, obviously not all of them. We knew that he was performing really well.
“Everyone also there at Blackburn was happy with his performances.
“He played as a centre-back and as a right-back.
“I think he has the defensive ability to cope with difficult players, like he did against Liverpool.
“He is someone that is going to be valuable. We have seen it since the beginning.
