Thomas Tuchel has been given a boost before officially starting as England manager after Henrique Hilario resigned at Chelsea to become their goalkeeping coach.
Hilario decided to leave Chelsea to work with Tuchel in England after the Blues made it clear they did not want him to share his position with England.
Chelsea have not commented on Hilario’s departure, but sources have confirmed it. Telegraph sport that his resignation was made official.
Tuchel officially begins work as England head coach on January 1 with an 18-month contract and currently counts behind the scenes Anthony Barry as assistant, Hilario as goalkeeping coach and James Melbourne, who has already left Chelsea, where he was responsible for performance. analysis.
The German worked with the duo at Chelsea, where they won the Champions League, and is believed to want a streamlined England team.
End of 18-year stay at Stamford Bridge
Hilario’s decision to join Tuchel ends an 18-year association with Chelsea, the club he joined as a player in 2006 and remained at the end of his career to take on a role as manager. coach.
The 49-year-old made 39 appearances for Chelsea and also won one international cap with Portugal.
Chelsea are unlikely to replace Hilario, given that head coach Enzo Maresca has goalkeeping coach Michele De Bernardin and assistant Willy Caballero, who is a former Blues keeper, in his team. Ben Roberts is Chelsea’s Global Head of Goalkeeping and James Russell is the Assistant First Team Goalkeeping Coach and Head of Academy Goalkeeping.
The FA will confirm Tuchel’s squad, which will not include Ashley Cole, who returns to the under-21s with Lee Carsley, or Joleon Lescott.
Tuchel and the FA will discuss whether or not his new England team will include a black and ethnic coach.
Inclusion of BAME coach to be discussed
Discussions are expected to take place about including a BAME coach to follow in the footsteps of Chris Powell, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and more recently Cole and Joleon Lescott, who have also been part of Carsley’s interim team.
As part of the FA and PFA’s Elite Coaching Placement Program (ECCP), launched in 2018, England teams at all levels are committed to providing opportunities for BAME individuals, with a view to increasing diversity in the high level football.
Former England international Powell was named in former manager Gareth Southgate’s coaching staff in 2019 and worked at the European Championships and the 2022 World Cup with the national team.
Powell resigned the following year and was replaced in Southgate’s squad by former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink, who was a popular member of the backroom team at that year’s European Championships in Germany.
The FA confirmed that Hasselbaink left his post after Southgate resigned as England manager, while Paul Nevin, who worked with the senior team, took charge of the Elite League side ( formerly under 20s).
Failure to include a BAME coach in Tuchel’s squad for the 2026 World Cup campaign could raise questions about the FA’s commitment to providing high-profile opportunities at a time when the governing body faces debate over decision to appoint a foreign England manager.