Chelsea Pursue Set-Piece Specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa

Chelsea are pushing to lure renowned set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa, as the club looks to arm new manager Xabi Alonso with every marginal gain available in a Premier League arms race that now runs deep into the details.

The London side have opened talks with MacPhee, but the chase is crowded. Other Premier League clubs are circling, and Saudi Pro League teams have joined the queue, attracted by a coach whose work has quietly shifted the balance of games at the elite level.

MacPhee, 46, is under contract at Villa Park and will not come cheap. Villa are entitled to compensation, with his deal understood to contain a defined release clause. Any club wanting him will need to show they are serious.

They have good reason. Across 2023-24, Villa scored more goals from set-pieces than any other team in Europe’s top five leagues, a staggering return for a side that did not boast the deepest squad or the biggest wage bill. The following campaign they stayed near the summit again, finishing among the top five for dead-ball goals and ending the Premier League season joint-top with Arsenal in that category.

Those routines did not happen by accident. Under Unai Emery, Villa built a reputation for relentless detail, and MacPhee became a central figure in that transformation. Corners, wide free-kicks, rehearsed movements at the back post – Villa turned them into a weapon, a repeatable source of points. That edge helped power a surge that delivered the Europa Conference League title and a place in next season’s Champions League.

This summer, though, Villa’s success is coming at a cost. MacPhee is set to be one of several staff members heading for the exit after that European triumph, a sign of how attractive Emery’s operation has become to rivals across the continent.

His reputation stretches beyond club football. For the past five years the Scot has combined his Villa duties with a similar role for the Portugal national team, working under Roberto Martinez. That dual workload, at international tournaments and in the Premier League grind, has sharpened a profile that now appeals to clubs looking for proven, plug‑in expertise at the highest level.

At Stamford Bridge, the timing is deliberate. Alonso’s backroom staff still has gaps, and the set-piece brief is about to open up. Bernardo Cueva, recruited from Brentford for £750,000 in 2024 amid great fanfare, is stepping away from a touchline role and moving into a more behind-the-scenes position. The vacancy is obvious. So is the opportunity.

Chelsea’s hierarchy have spent heavily on players. Now they are hunting for the kind of specialist who can turn a single corner into a season-defining moment. Whether they can win a battle that now stretches from the Premier League to Saudi Arabia will say plenty about how much pulling power this new project really has.