Chelsea Pursue Set-Piece Specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa
Chelsea are in talks to lure highly rated set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa, as the London club move to sharpen the finer details of Xabi Alonso’s new era at Stamford Bridge.
They are not alone in the chase. Several Premier League rivals and clubs from the Saudi Pro League have joined the pursuit, turning the move for a coach into a fully fledged transfer battle.
Chelsea target the dead-ball master
MacPhee’s reputation is no secret inside elite circles. The 46-year-old Scot has been central to Aston Villa’s rise as a set-piece force, helping Unai Emery’s side become the most dangerous dead-ball team in Europe.
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 best, finishing joint-top with Arsenal for set-piece goals in the Premier League. Corners, free-kicks, rehearsed routines from throw-ins – Villa squeezed points out of all of them.
That doesn’t happen by accident. It comes from hours of detail, repetition and a coach who treats set-plays as a weapon rather than a restart.
Release clause on the table
MacPhee is under contract at Villa Park and the Midlands club would be due compensation. His deal is understood to contain a specific release clause, a detail that gives interested clubs clarity but also underlines Villa’s awareness of his value.
He has balanced his Villa duties with a similar role on the international stage for the past five years, working with the Portugal national team under Roberto Martinez, who stepped down after the World Cup. That dual role has allowed MacPhee to test his ideas against the highest level of international football as well as the relentless grind of the Premier League.
Now, with Villa preparing for another season in the Champions League after winning the Europa Conference League under Emery, one of the architects of their success could be heading for the exit.
Backroom rebuild under Xabi Alonso
For Chelsea, the timing is deliberate. Alonso has space in his backroom team, particularly around set-plays. Bernardo Cueva, who arrived from Brentford in 2024 for £750,000 to oversee that department, is moving away from a touchline role into a more behind-the-scenes position.
That shift has opened a clear lane for a new specialist to step into the technical area and onto the training pitch. Alonso, a meticulous thinker from his playing days, understands how much marginal gains at dead-balls can tilt tight games in a league where the top sides are separated by fine details.
MacPhee would not be the only staff member leaving Villa Park this summer, but he might be the most symbolically significant. When a club that has just powered its way into the Champions League starts losing the minds behind its structure, rivals pay attention.
The question now is simple: whose badge will MacPhee be wearing when the first corner of the new season is whipped into the box?
