County’s defence strengthened as Hills joins on loan

Stockport County is delighted to announce the signing of defender Brad Hills on loan from Championship outfit Norwich City.

The highly-rated centre-half has joined for the remainder of the 2024/25 campaign, training with Dave Challinor’s team at Carrington for the first time on transfer deadline day.

The 20-year-old has risen through the academy ranks at his local club Norwich City in recent years, impressing for their U18s and U21s sides before signing a three-year deal with the Canaries in 2022.

Brad then enjoyed a successful first loan spell under John Coleman at Accrington Stanley last season, featuring 41 times for the Reds in League Two and scoring three times, with his performances seeing him named by Stanley supporters as the Club’s Player of the Season.

Returning to Carrow Road over the Summer, the England U20 international has remained part of Johannes Hoff Thorup’s first-team squad over the first half of the campaign, making four appearances in all competitions.

His move to Edgeley Park further strengthens Dave Challinor’s defensive options as we prepare for our final 17 league games of the season. Brad will wear the number 33 during his time at County, and the defender will be hoping to make his debut at Edgeley Park this weekend against Barnsley.



Director of Football, Simon Wilson said:

“Brad is a strong and dominant centre-back with good technical aspects to his game. We’ve watched a lot and had to wait for this chance to get him; we think he’ll adapt well to us and be a strong addition to our group.

“He is hungry to get going into games at this important and exciting time of the season. I am sure he is going to have an impact for us in his time here and for sure will further develop with the staff and teammates he’ll have beside him.”

First-Team Manager, Dave Challinor said:

“Brad is someone we’ve kept track of over the last few years. He had a fantastic loan at Accrington Stanley last season and played a full season at League Two level. He was required to stay in at Norwich in for the first half of the season, but to get him now is a real coup for us and we thank Norwich for trusting us in the next part of his development.

“He’s young and we definitely think we can improve him and have him improve our squad. Importantly, he wants to defend, wants to head the ball and can handle the ball in possession. This was an area we were really keen to strengthen and getting Brad in this position is really good news for us, and I’m sure everyone will see his qualities and what he will add to an already strong squad.”

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