Four-year contract signed as Leeds United transfer target commits future to Premier League rivals
Leeds United's full-back search eventually took them to Leicester City's James Justin instead.
Leeds United summer transfer target James Hill has committed his future to Bournemouth by signing a new four-year contract.
Hill was one of several full-back options linked with a potential move to Elland Road over the summer, with Sky Sports initially reporting on interest in the defender who had one year left on his deal at the Vitality Stadium. The YEP understood at the time he was on a list of prospective targets that also included Leicester City’s James Justin.
Leeds eventually made their move on Justin, agreeing a deal worth £8million plus £2m of potential add-ons for the England international, who penned a four-year deal in West Yorkshire. That move effectively ended interest in Hill for this particular window and the 23-year-old now looks set to remain at Bournemouth for the foreseeable future, with his own long-term deal confirmed this week.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to put pen to paper,” Hill told Bournemouth’s website following confirmation of his new contract. “Ever since coming to the club when I was 19 years of age, I’ve felt that this place was home.
“It’s not just the players inside the club that have made me want to stay, but the fans as well, I’ve felt really welcomed since the first day I stepped through the door. I’m happy to continue and I can’t wait to get started for the next four years.
“It’s really exciting here. Every day we’re developing, learning and it’s such a young and hungry group that, going into every game, there’s a possibility to win. We go into every game thinking that we can win and that mindset in the changing room in terms of wanting to get better and wanting to push as a group is really exciting.”
James Hill due at Elland Road for Leeds United clash this month
Hill looks set to become an important squad member at Bournemouth this season, having featured in all three Premier League games so far off the bench. The England youth international’s versatility has seen head coach Andoni Iraola deploy him across full-back, centre-back and even central midfield already.
Iraola, who has regularly credited his former Athletic Club manager Marcelo Bielsa with influencing his coaching career, is clearly a big fan of Hill and so it’s no surprise Leeds had him on a list of potential defensive options. And speaking after links emerged, the Cherries boss made clear his desire to keep the young defender.
“No, I have no news about this. It's new for me,” he admitted of Leeds’ reported interest. “This is news and I'm very happy with James Hill and definitely I want to keep him. I don't know, I cannot guarantee anything because this, like other players, you want to keep them.
“But if someone comes and pays the money that the club thinks that it works for every part he will leave like the others. But from my side he played the first day, some minutes and he's a player that I value.”
Hill and his Bournemouth teammates will come to Elland Road to face Leeds on Saturday, September 27. Daniel Farke’s side must first come through a pair of away trips to Fulham and Wolves.