Aston Villa set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee poised for Chelsea switch
The 46-year-old is expected to join Chelsea after the west London club triggered a release clause in his Aston Villa contract.
Former Hearts coach Austin MacPhee is set to leave his role as Aston Villa set-piece coach to join Chelsea after the Stamford Bridge side triggered his release clause.
Villa had made attempts to keep the 46-year-old in Birmingham, but McPhee is seeking a new challenge after spending five years at Villa Park.
MacPhee joined in August 2021 and had two spells as assistant coach with Scotland under Steve Clarke for three years until 2024 and with Roberto Martinez’s Portugal side joining last February and was with them during the 2026 World Cup, where they lost 1-0 in the last 16 of the tournament to eventual champions Spain.
Under MacPhee’s coaching, Villa scored 74 goals from set piece situations, and he will be a huge miss for Villa who finished fourth last season, while Chelsea finished 10th in the English Premier League.
Before joining Aston Villa, MacPhee coached at Cowdenbeath, St.Mirren, FC Midtjylland and a three year period at Hearts, including 6 games as caretaker manager. He also spent six years as part of Michael O’Neill’s coaching staff at Northern Ireland.