Overview
- Chelsea has recruited Austin MacPhee from Aston Villa to join Xabi Alonso’s first-team coaching staff as a specialist set-piece coach.
- Alonso publicly welcomed the hire and said MacPhee’s Premier League experience will help the staff adapt to domestic demands.
- MacPhee is credited with high set-piece output at Aston Villa and with assisting Portugal at the World Cup, and managers and players have praised his player-facing methods.
- The club moved Bernardo Cueva into a technical role and paid an undisclosed compensation fee to bring MacPhee in, with immediate tactical work recorded during pre-season.
- The signing targets a clear weakness: Chelsea conceded more set-piece goals than it scored in 2025/26 (13 scored, 17 conceded), but MacPhee’s impact will need match evidence over the coming weeks.