Chelsea Pursue Set-Piece Specialist Austin MacPhee from Villa
Chelsea have opened talks to prise highly rated set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee away from Aston Villa, targeting one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in the Premier League – but they are not alone in the chase.
The 46-year-old Scottish coach, a key architect of Villa’s dead-ball dominance, is attracting interest from other Premier League sides and clubs in the Saudi Pro League. Any move will not come cheap. Villa are entitled to compensation, with MacPhee’s contract understood to contain a specific release clause.
For Chelsea, the timing is deliberate. New head coach Xabi Alonso has room to reshape his backroom team, with current set-piece coach Bernardo Cueva stepping away from a touchline role and into a more analytical, behind-the-scenes position. A vacancy has opened up in one of the most specialised and increasingly decisive areas of the modern game.
And few have a stronger recent résumé than MacPhee.
The numbers behind the reputation
Under Unai Emery, Villa turned set-pieces into a weapon. During the 2023-24 campaign, they scored more goals from dead-ball situations than any other side across Europe’s top five leagues. The trend did not fade. The following season, they remained among the top five in that category and finished joint-top with Arsenal for set-piece goals in the Premier League.
Those returns helped fuel Villa’s surge under Emery, a run that brought the Europa Conference League title and a coveted place in the Champions League. MacPhee has been a constant presence in that rise, his work on routines and detail becoming a defining feature of Villa’s identity.
His influence has stretched beyond club football as well. For the past five years, he has combined his Villa duties with a similar role on the international stage, working with the Portugal national team under Roberto Martinez. Martinez has since resigned following the World Cup, but MacPhee’s reputation as a specialist operator has only grown.
Villa braced for more change
If Chelsea manage to get their man, MacPhee would be one of several staff members to depart Villa Park this summer. The club are already adjusting to the demands and scrutiny that come with Champions League qualification, and interest in their staff is a natural by-product of success.
The potential loss of their set-piece expert would be another significant change for Emery to navigate, just as Villa prepare for a season in which the margins will be finer than ever.
Chelsea’s wider rebuild
At Stamford Bridge, the pursuit of MacPhee fits into a broader, aggressive reset under Alonso. Chelsea have already completed a major piece of business with Villa this week, signing Morgan Rogers for £117m, with Alejandro Garnacho heading the other way on an initial loan that is expected to become permanent via an option to buy.
That deal underlined Chelsea’s willingness to spend heavily to shape both their squad and their future. Targeting MacPhee suggests the same intent now extends fully to the coaching infrastructure.
Set-pieces decide titles, European spots, and careers. Chelsea know it. Villa know it. The question now is whether one of the Premier League’s sharpest dead-ball minds will be plotting corners and free-kicks in claret and blue next season – or in Chelsea blue.
