Chelsea Targets Set-Piece Specialist Austin MacPhee from Villa
Chelsea are pushing to lure acclaimed set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa, with Premier League rivals and Saudi Pro League clubs also circling for his signature.
Villa will be entitled to compensation, with MacPhee’s contract understood to contain a defined release clause. Any club wanting him will have to pay to unlock one of the most influential backroom figures in English football over the past two seasons.
Set-piece architect of Villa’s rise
MacPhee, 46, has quietly become a key pillar of Villa’s resurgence. Working under Unai Emery, the Scottish coach helped turn dead-ball situations into a ruthless weapon.
The numbers are stark. During the 2023-24 campaign, Villa scored more goals from set-pieces than any other side across Europe’s top five leagues. The following season they stayed among the continent’s elite in that department and finished joint-top with Arsenal for set-piece goals in the Premier League.
Those routines were not just statistical garnish. They underpinned a season that delivered the Europa Conference League trophy and a place in next season’s Champions League, a transformation that has re-established Villa among the heavyweights.
MacPhee has combined his work at Villa Park with a similar role at international level for the Portugal national team over the past five years, operating under Roberto Martinez, who stepped down after the World Cup. That dual role has only sharpened his reputation as one of the most meticulous and inventive set-piece minds in the game.
Chelsea’s backroom gap
Xabi Alonso, newly installed at Stamford Bridge, has a vacancy in precisely that area. Bernardo Cueva, brought in from Brentford for £750,000 in 2024 to oversee set-pieces, is stepping away from the touchline and moving into a more behind-the-scenes role.
Alonso’s football is built on structure, control and detail. For a coach obsessed with fine margins, the chance to bolt on a specialist whose work directly translates into points on the board is an obvious attraction. Chelsea’s interest reflects a broader shift in the Premier League, where elite clubs now treat set-pieces as a phase of play to be engineered, not an afterthought.
The pursuit of MacPhee comes in a week that has already seen heavy traffic between the two clubs. Chelsea completed the signing of Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa for £117m, while Alejandro Garnacho moved in the opposite direction on an initial loan that is expected to become permanent via an option to buy.
Villa exodus gathers pace
If MacPhee does go, he will be one of several staff members departing Villa Park this summer after a period of sustained success under Emery. The club are braced for change behind the scenes even as they prepare for the demands of Champions League football.
For Villa, losing the man behind their dead-ball dominance would be a significant blow. For Chelsea, securing him would be a clear statement of intent: that in a league decided by inches, they intend to own every blade of grass around the penalty area.
