Chelsea have finally resolved the hot button issue of the summer, solidifying a third choice keeper for the 2013/14 campaign. The keeper in question? That would be the legendary Henrique Hilario.
According to the club's website, Hilario has agreed to a one-year deal that will allow him to keep watching the club from the best seat on the pitch. Having a "job" that consists of training with one of the best clubs on the planet and watching from the best seats in the house sounds like a great deal, so Hilario was unsurprisingly pleased:
'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.'
None of Hilario, Petr Cech, or Mark Schwarzer qualify as homegrown, meaning the Blues will have a trio of keepers occupying international slots. That's not usually a very sound way to build a roster, and would seem to lend weight to Jose Mourinho's suggestion that we aren't looking to add players aside from Wayne Rooney to the mix.
Fans hoping for youth to get more chances should probably be excited by that point, as any sort of injury crisis or suspension will likely see some youngsters getting a look. Fans holding out hope for a Sami Khedira or Daniele De Rossi signing will likely be disappointed though, as a move of that sort just became less likely. Regardless, Hilario seems like a good guy, and I'd much rather see him collecting a nice paycheck from the club as opposed to seeing the roster spot go unused. Welcome back, Henrique.