--- source: thedugout.football generated: 2026-07-24T20:30:42.853Z last_updated: 2026-07-24T18:17:47+00:00 data_provider: API-Football canonical: https://thedugout.football/clubs/aston-villa/news/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmlybWluZ2hhbW1haWwuY28udWsvc3BvcnQvZm9vdGJhbGwvZm9vdGJhbGwtbmV3cy9hc3Rvbi12aWxsYS1hdXN0aW4tbWFjcGhlZS1jaGVsc2VhLTM0MzQ4ODkx --- # Aston Villa lose another key man to Chelsea just days after Rogers transfer - **Source:** - **Published:** 24 Jul - **Club:** Aston Villa - **Original URL:** https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-austin-macphee-chelsea-34348891 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. 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. 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." You can follow our dedicated reporter John Townley on X by clicking here - he follows Villa home and away and offers you comprehensive coverage from matchdays, press conferences and everything that happens in between. You'll also get competition offers and stories around discounts on Villa merchandise. WhatsApp: You can also get all your favourite content from BirminghamLive's Villa team on WhatsApp. Click here to sign up for breaking updates about the biggest stories in and around the club.If you prefer reading our Villa stories on your phone, consider downloading the BirminghamLive app, in which you can personalise the content you see by selecting Villa as one of your designated topics. You can get it from Apple here and for Android here. Social: We have a Facebook page waiting for you with daily updates, some of which we don't post anywhere else - click here You can also folllow our Villa updates on X - here Podcast: Our weekly Aston Villa podcast, Claret And Blue, is also available to watch and listen on all major streaming services. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel here, while you can access the podcast on Spotify here and via Apple here.