Henrique Hilario has signed a new one-year deal and will remain a Chelsea player for the 2013/14 Premier League season, as confirmed on the club’s official website.
The goalkeeper was signed by Jose Mourinho in 2006 during the Portuguese manager’s first stint at Stamford Bridge. It was originally announced that he would be released along with the likes of Paulo Ferreira and Yossi Benayoun, so it was a surprise to many to see him on the list of players that travelled to the US this week.
Hilario is one of four goalkeepers in the 25-man squad, Petr Cech, Mark Schwarzer and Jamal Blackman being the other three. The 37-year-old hasn’t made many appearances for the Blues over the years (39) but has a wealth of experience and is a good personality to have around the squad.
He told the club’s wesbite:
“It feels really good to sign a new contract for another year at the club, I’m very proud.
“I’m really pleased to be part of this great squad and I’m looking forward to working once again with Jose Mourinho.”
With Cech and Schwarzer, who was Fulham’s first-choice last season, in the setup I don’t see Hilario playing much of a part on the pitch so am a little confused as to why he’s been kept on. It means using up a squad place for an over-21 overseas player when we could just use Blackman as a third-choice and keep the squad place clear should we need anyone else. I thought if he was to be kept on then it’d be more likely as part of the coaching staff, but I guess not. Good luck to him nevertheless.
