- Henrique Hilario has handed in his resignation at Chelsea
- Goalkeeping coach joined as a player in 2006 and returned as a coach in 2016
- Set to link up with former boss Thomas Tuchel in new-look England staff
Chelsea will see long-serving coach Henrique Hilario leave the club to join former Blues boss Thomas Tuchel in a new-look England staff from the New Year, a report has revealed.
Hilario has spent the best part of 20 years with Chelsea since joining as a backup goalkeeper under the management of Jose Mourinho in 2006.
He made 39 appearances in eight seasons, half of which came during his debut campaign alone when both Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were injured. The Portuguese remained a member of the playing squad until his retirement aged 38 in 2014, before returning as a coach two years later.
Hilario has worked under seven permanent managers at Stamford Bridge in the last eight-and-a-half seasons and it is one of those, Tuchel, he will now be following into the England setup.
The Telegraph writes that while Chelsea have not publicly commented on Hilario's departure, his resignation is considered "official" internally. The 49-year-old initially looked at splitting roles between Chelsea and England, but his club were not interested in allowing a job-share.
Tuchel's "streamlined" England staff, which is yet to be fully confirmed, is thoroughly influenced by the German's time at Chelsea. Anthony Barry is in place as assistant, having gained experience in roles with Bayern Munich, Portugal, Belgium and Republic of Ireland since working with Tuchel in west London. James Melbourne, at Chelsea since 2005, will lead performance analysis.
But while Hilario is leaving Chelsea, the Blues are not expected to hire a replacement given the number of other goalkeeping coaches already on the staff. That includes Ben Roberts, head of global goalkeeping, and first-team assistant/academy head James Russell, while Enzo Maresca brought Michele de Bernadin and Willy Caballero with him from Leicester City during the summer.
