Thomas Tuchel has raided his former club Chelsea to add another member to his backroom staff as the incoming England head coach prepares to start work in January.
Henrique Hilario – known simply as ‘Hilario’ during his time in England – has reportedly handed in his resignation at Stamford Bridge ahead of reuniting with Tuchel at St George’s Park.
The Portuguese coach, who arrived in west London back in 2006 after being signed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, stayed at the club when he retired as a goalkeeping coach.
But the 49-year-old is now set to end his 18-year association with the Blues after deciding to resign from his position, according to The Telegraph. He will link up with his former boss Tuchel, with whom he previously worked between January 2021 and September 2022.
It comes after Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca revealed in October that he was anticipating an approach from Tuchel for some of his staff members.
Hilario will continue in his role as a goalkeeping coach and will be joined by James Melbourne, who has already left his role at Chelsea where he was head of performance analysis.
Tuchel officially starts work as England head coach on January 1 after signing an 18-month contract to replace Gareth Southgate, who stepped down in August.
Lee Carsley had been placed in temporary charge, but the Under-21s boss will return to his original post when Tuchel takes the reins. Likewise, Ashley Cole will revert back to his role with the young Lions with Carsley and will not take up a job in Tuchel’s coaching team.
It’s not the first time the German tactician has swooped to hire a Chelsea staff member, having recruited Anthony Barry as his assistant when he joined his previous club Bayern Munich.
Despite losing a well-respected staff member, the report adds that Maresca is unlikely to search for a replacement for the ex-Portugal international.
The Italian recruited goalkeeping coach Michele De Bernardin in the summer and brought in another former Chelsea goalkeeper, Willy Caballero, as his assistant when he was appointed in June.
Ben Roberts is Chelsea’s head of global goalkeeping, while James Russell is first-team assistant goalkeeping coach and head of academy goalkeeping, meaning there are enough members in that particular department to cover Hilario’s departure.
