Hilario Re-Signs for Chelsea, but Is It a Wise Move?

Breaking news out of Stamford Bridge on Thursday revealed Chelsea made their fourth major signing of the current transfer window—Portuguese goalkeeper Hilario.

For those hoping the next man to be arriving in West London would be Wayne Rooney—who has long been linked this summer with a big-money move to Chelsea (via Evening Standard)—the news would have been somewhat of an anti-climax.

After all, Hilario has been a familiar face in West London for the best part of seven years and his return is hardly an inspiring one as the club plots its return to the summit of English football.

Hilario re-joins Chelsea on a one-year deal, having been included on the club's list of released players at the end of 2012-13 and had this say to Chelsea's official website:

"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."

At 37, Hilario has every reason to be thrilled with the announcement. His career has all but ran its course, so where better to spend another year on the sidelines than at a club challenging for major honors?

Indeed, with 39 appearances to his name since joining Chelsea from Nacional in 2006, the Portuguese stopper hasn't been much more than a glorified cheerleader.

Petr Cech's dominance has kept him out of the starting XI throughout his time at Stamford Bridge, and while he received cult hero status on the back of making his Chelsea debut against Barcelona in 2006, Hilario has achieved little more.

That debut was certainly one to savor. The Blues were in the throes of a goalkeeping crisis after Petr Cech and Carlo Cudicini were both injured in the previous outing against Reading—Cech having fractured his skull.

To English crowds, Hilario was relatively unknown, so his performance against the Catalan giants was all the more surprising as he pulled off a string of fine saves to ensure Didier Drogba's exquisite strike gave the Blues a 1-0 victory.

But he's had his moment at Chelsea. It's time for another goalkeeper to be given an opportunity—even if it is to claim his own personal 15 minutes of Chelsea fame as Hilario has.

With Ross Turnbull and his Portuguese counterpart officially released earlier this summer, the capture of Mark Schwarzer from Fulham as competition for Cech appeared to be an inspired one.

The Australian has a wealth of experience and with young Jamal Blackman waiting in line for an opportunity, the 19-year-old must have been relishing the prospect of making the next step in his professional career.

Instead, it would appear Blackman is being met by the same wall that has prevented many of Chelsea's youngsters excelling at the club in previous seasons.

It's not just one aged, experienced player standing between him and opportunity, but two—and that's just to make the bench at Stamford Bridge, let alone play.

How can any young player excel and prove himself in an environment as competitive as that?

The signing of Hilario is hardly a vote of confidence for Blackman's abilities. It's a shame, too, as this summer the Blues have shown signs of their willingness to integrate their pool of youthful talent with the first team (refer to Mourinho Spending Wisely at Chelsea this Summer).

There is always a case for adding depth to any squad, but with two fine goalkeepers already within Chelsea's ranks, the re-signing of Hilario is baffling.

For Jamal Blackman, it's a whole lot more.

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In other Chelsea news this week, Blues manager Jose Mourinho has given his thoughts on the UK launch of Bleacher Report. You can see what the "Happy One" had to say, along with a host of other famous names in the video below.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @garryhayes