James Hill (footballer, born 2002)

James Clayton Hill (born 10 January 2002) is an English professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Blackburn Rovers, on loan from Premier League club Bournemouth.

James Hill
Personal information
Full name James Clayton Hill[1]
Date of birth (2002-01-10) 10 January 2002[2]
Place of birth Bristol, England[3]
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)[4]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Blackburn Rovers
(on loan from Bournemouth)
Number 4
Youth career
0000–2018 Fleetwood Town
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2022 Fleetwood Town 43 (1)
2022– Bournemouth 2 (0)
2023 → Heart of Midlothian (loan) 14 (0)
2023– → Blackburn Rovers (loan) 5 (0)
International career‡
2021–2022 England U20 4 (1)
2022– England U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20:43, 24 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13:59, 12 June 2022 (UTC)

Early and personal life

His father is Matt Hill, also a footballer.[5][6]

Club career

Fleetwood Town

Hill made his senior debut for Fleetwood Town in the EFL Cup, against Leicester City on 28 August 2018.[2] Aged just 16 on his debut, Hill became the club's youngest ever first-team player.[5] He turned professional in February 2019.[6][7] He made his "impressive" league debut on 19 April 2019, against Peterborough United, with his long throw leading to Hunter's 95th minute equaliser for Fleetwood Town.[8] Just three days later, on 22 April 2019, Hill made his first league start against his father's former club, Blackpool, which concluded in a 2–1 defeat for the side.[2]

At the end of the 2020–21 season, Hill was offered a new contract at Fleetwood Town.[9]

AFC Bournemouth

On 5 January 2022, Hill joined Championship club AFC Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee said to be a club record for Fleetwood and reported to be £1 million, signing a four-and-a-half year contract.[10][11]

He moved on loan to Heart of Midlothian in January 2023,[12][13][14] and on loan to Blackburn Rovers in September 2023.[15]

International career

On 6 September 2021, Hill made his debut for the England U20s during a 6–1 victory over Romania U20s at St. George's Park.[16]

On 10 June 2022, Hill made his England U21 debut during a 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification 5–0 victory away to Kosovo.[17]

Career statistics
As of 24 October 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup EFL Cup Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Fleetwood Town 2018–19[2] League One 2000100030
2019–20[18] League One 0000000000
2020–21[19] League One 28000304[lower-alpha 1]0350
2021–22[20] League One 13100101[lower-alpha 1]0151
Total 431005050531
AFC Bournemouth 2021–22[20] Championship 1010000020
2022–23[21] Premier League 0000200020
2023–24[22] Premier League 1000000010
Total 2010200050
Heart of Midlothian (loan) 2022–23[21] Scottish Premiership 140300000170
Blackburn Rovers (loan) 2023–24[22] Championship 5000100060
Career total 641408050811
  1. Appearances in EFL Trophy

References
  1. "Club list of registered players: As at 19th May 2019" (PDF). English Football League. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  2. "Games played by James Hill in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. James Hill at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
  4. "J. Hill: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. Rosie Swarbrick (29 August 2018). "James Hill makes Fleetwood history as Joey Barton explains 11 team changes at Leicester". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 26 October 2018.
  6. Rosie Swarbrick (15 February 2019). "Fleetwood Town youngster James Hill is following in the footsteps of his father and former Preston North End, Blackpool and Sheffield United player Matt by signing first pro contract". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  7. "James Hill signs first professional contract". Fleetwood Town F.C. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  8. Rosie Swarbrick (21 April 2019). "James Hill could make his first league start as Fleetwood Town head to Blackpool on Easter Monday". Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. "Retained list announced". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. 13 May 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  10. "Hill makes club record move to Bournemouth". www.fleetwoodtownfc.com. 5 January 2022.
  11. "Bournemouth sign Fleetwood's Hill". BBC Sport. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2022.
  12. "James' Jambo Delight". www.heartsfc.co.uk. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  13. "Bournemouth's James Hill joins Hearts on loan". BBC Sport. 9 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  14. Pilcher, Ross (9 January 2023). "James Hill seals Hearts transfer on loan from Bournemouth". Daily Record. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  15. "Blackburn sign Bournemouth defender Hill on loan". BBC Sport.
  16. Veevers, Nicholas (6 September 2021). "Six at SGP for MU20s". England Football. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  17. Eddison, Paul (10 June 2022). "Match report: Kosovo 0–5 England MU21s". England Football. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  18. "Games played by James Hill in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  19. "Games played by James Hill in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  20. "Games played by James Hill in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  21. "Games played by James Hill in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
  22. "Games played by James Hill in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
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