Aston Villa set-piece coach Austin MacPhee is on the verge of leaving Villa Park for Premier League rivals Chelsea, according to talkSPORT.

MacPhee, 46, has spent five years at Aston Villa after arriving in August 2021 from spells with the Northern Ireland national team, Hearts, and FC Midtjylland. During that time, he worked alongside managers Dean Smith, Steven Gerrard, and Unai Emery.

A track record that speaks for itself

His impact at Villa has been significant. The club scored 29 set-piece goals during the 2025/26 season — joint-most in Europe alongside Arsenal — and have netted 74 set-piece goals across his entire tenure, according to The Athletic.

MacPhee will bring that expertise to Stamford Bridge, where he is expected to work under head coach Xabi Alonso. He will also continue in his assistant manager role with Portugal.

Chelsea's second Villa signing this summer

MacPhee becomes the second arrival at Chelsea from Aston Villa this summer, following the British record £117 million signing of Morgan Rogers. The 23-year-old had been strongly linked with Premier League champions Arsenal before Chelsea completed the deal.

Rogers and MacPhee already share a successful working relationship from their time together at Villa, and the pair will link up again at Chelsea ahead of the new campaign.

Meanwhile, the arrival of MacPhee follows an internal reshuffle at Stamford Bridge. Bernardo Cueva, who moved from Brentford ahead of the 2024/25 season to serve as a set-piece coach, has since been reassigned to a technical analyst role.