Chelsea poach another crucial Aston Villa man only days after £117m Morgan Rogers signing
Chelsea are on the brink of appointing former Aston Villa set-piece coach Austin MacPhee just days after Morgan Rogers’ £117m move to Stamford Bridge was confirmed
Chelsea are on the brink of appointing Austin MacPhee, the former Aston Villa set piece coach.(Image: (Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images))
Chelsea look set to land another huge blow to Aston Villa by landing set-piece coach Austin MacPhee, who is on the brink of joining the Blues.
It represents yet another significant setback 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 transfer.
MacPhee is understood to have bid farewell to players and staff on Friday ahead of his move to the Blues, where he will join forces with new Chelsea head coach Xabi Alonso.
He arrived at Villa following his departure from Midtjylland in August 2021 and has been an integral part of the coaching structure ever since.
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When Dean Smith departed the club, MacPhee remained due to the exceptional quality of his work, and his influence on Villa’s tactical approach alongside Unai Emery has been plain to see, reports Birmingham Live.
At the close of last season, Villa netted from set pieces in three successive matches, with Youri Tielemans on target in the Europa League final victory over Freiburg.
Morgan Rogers found the back of the net against Liverpool, while Ollie Watkins scored against Manchester City.
MacPhee was a consistent presence in the technical area for both attacking and defensive set pieces and was highly regarded throughout the club.
He has balanced his responsibilities at Villa with the assistant manager position with Scotland and, more recently, the assistant manager role with Portugal at this summer’s World Cup.
However, his stint at the club has now drawn to a close, with Chelsea moving swiftly to secure his signature.
Emery praised MacPhee’s contribution following their Europa League final victory, describing him as “a really fantastic creator. We must be so, so demanding in our details.
“Austin is fantastic,” Emery remarked. “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.”
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