Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola says James Hill is a big part of his plans.

The defender had his loan with Blackburn Rovers cut short in January.

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.

“I think he was really good in pre-season for us. He played a lot of minutes.

“I remember him starting quite a lot of games in pre-season.

“We were not especially looking for a loan or if he wanted to continue here.

“But I think it was a very good option for him to play for Blackburn. He did really well.

“I think it was a very good loan.

“Whenever you send one player on loan, it is what you want to happen – them to go there, start a lot of games, have good performances, come back and help the team again."