Aston Villa are set to lose another key man to Chelsea just days after Morgan Rogers' departure
Aston Villa set-piece coach Austin MacPhee is on the verge of a move to Chelsea.
Aston Villa set-piece coach Austin MacPhee is on the verge of a move to Chelsea. (Image: (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images))
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Aston Villa are set to lose set-piece coach Austin MacPhee who is on the verge of joining Premier League rivals Chelsea.
It's yet another big blow for Unai Emery's side, with the 46-year-old set to follow Morgan Rogers to Stamford Bridge, just days after the England international's £117m move.
MacPhee is understood to have said his goodbyes to players and staff today (Friday) ahead of a move to the Blues, where he'll link up with new Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso.
He joined Villa after leaving Midtjylland in August 2021 and has been a key figure in the coaching set-up since his arrival.
When Dean Smith left the club, MacPhee stayed on as a result of his brilliant work and his impact on the Villa tactics alongside Unai Emery has been clear to see.
At the end of last season, Villa scored from set pieces in three consecutive games, with Youri Tielemans scoring in the Europa League final win over Freiburg. Morgan Rogers found the back of the net against Liverpool, and Ollie Watkins scored against Manchester City.
Unai Emery and Austin MacPhee
Unai Emery and Austin MacPhee(Image: Getty Images)
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MacPhee was a regular in the technical area for both attacking and defending set pieces and was held in high regard by the club.
He has juggled his role at Villa with the assistant manager role with Scotland and then more recently, the role of assistant manager with Portugal at this summer's World Cup.
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However, his time at the club has come to an end, with Chelsea swooping to secure his services.
Emery lauded MacPhee's impact in the aftermath of their Europa League final win and saying he was "a really fantastic creator. We must be so, so demanding in our details.
"Austin is fantastic," Emery said. "Everything we are working on makes sense. The hours in each training session each day to try to get as best as possible our challenges in set pieces.
"When we are scoring like that of course we are proud of what we’re doing."