Chelsea in Talks to Sign Set-Piece Specialist Austin MacPhee
Chelsea are in talks to prise highly rated set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa, as the London club look to sharpen one of the most decisive areas of the modern game under new manager Xabi Alonso.
They are not alone in the chase. Other Premier League sides and clubs from the Saudi Pro League have also moved for the 46-year-old, whose reputation has surged on the back of Aston Villa’s dead-ball dominance.
Chelsea move for a set-piece heavyweight
MacPhee is under contract at Villa Park and any move would trigger a release clause written into his deal, meaning Villa are entitled to compensation. That clause is now the key that could unlock his next step.
If Chelsea get their man, they will be landing one of the most influential backroom figures in English football over the past two seasons. Under Unai Emery, Villa scored more goals from set-pieces than any other side across Europe’s top five leagues in the 2023-24 campaign — a staggering return in a landscape where marginal gains often decide seasons.
The following year, the numbers barely dipped. Villa again sat among the top five in Europe for set-piece goals and finished joint-top with Arsenal for dead-ball strikes in the Premier League last season. Corners and free-kicks became a weapon, not a detail.
That edge helped drive Villa to a Europa Conference League title and a place in next season’s Champions League, the club’s most significant European step in decades. MacPhee, though rarely in the spotlight, has been central to that rise.
A coach in demand
The Scottish coach has built that reputation while juggling two high-profile roles. For the past five years he has combined his Villa duties with a set-piece position for the Portugal national team, working under Roberto Martinez until the manager’s resignation after the World Cup.
His work has turned him into a specialist that elite clubs now plan around. This summer, he is expected to be one of several staff members leaving Villa Park as Emery reshapes his backroom team after a gruelling, but successful, European run.
Chelsea sense an opportunity. Alonso’s staff still has a gap in the set-piece department, especially with Bernardo Cueva — recruited from Brentford in 2024 for £750,000 — moving away from the touchline and into a more analytical, behind-the-scenes role.
Alonso’s puzzle, MacPhee’s decision
For Alonso, who wants a technically refined but aggressive Chelsea, the dead-ball department is not a luxury. It is a pillar. The club’s hierarchy have already shown a willingness to invest heavily in specialists, and MacPhee fits the profile: proven, innovative, and battle-tested at the top end of the Premier League.
The decision now rests with the coach and the clubs circling him. Villa hold the contract, Chelsea have the vacancy, and Saudi money is on the table.
For a man whose work so often decides games by inches, this next move could shift the balance by a mile.
