Newcastle set to appoint Naheem Ali as Catterson leaves for Premier League role
There has been a big reshuffle at Newcastle United this summer, and that continues with a change in the club doctor.
We’ve had a new manager, new players, stadium revamps, and the £190m announcement of a new training ground.
The latest change is set to be the club doctor, with the club poaching Brentford
Dr Ali in as Catterson departs
According to The Athletic, Dr Naheem Ali is set to become Newcastle United's new club doctor and is currently on gardening leave at Brentford ahead of the move.
Dr Paul Catterson has been our club doctor since 2009, but his time has come to an end with a new role with the Premier League calling. He first informed the club that he would be leaving in May and has been serving his notice ever since.
He’s set to stay on for a few more months as well, seeing out the current transfer window before moving on to become the chief medical officer at the Premier League.
Incoming is Dr Naheem Ali, who was previously at Brentford as their lead doctor for two years. The timing of his joining is a bit unknown, with reports he could join next month. In theory, that would free up Catterson to leave.
For what it's worth, Catterson isn't just any club doctor. He'd become the longest-serving head of medicine at any Premier League club, so this really is the end of an era.
Ali arrives with a broad CV. Waugh notes he's held medical roles at Millwall and Barnet in football, plus stints with England and Great Britain Hockey, the MK Lightning ice-hockey side and Cricket Ireland.
The process itself has been led by performance director James Bunce, who joined in 2024 and oversees the medical and performance side, alongside sporting director Ross Wilson.
A smart move by Bunce
The backroom staff are important, and considering the issues we’ve had with injuries over the years, this is a positive and necessary step now that Catterson is departing. James Bunce has led several changes at the club since he joined, and this is the latest of those.
With Jaissle’s physical and aggressive style of play, having good fitness and medical staff will be very important. It’s hard to know how good Dr Ali is, but Brentford are shrewd operators, so we back him to be a shrewd appointment.
Let’s hope his first job is doing the medical for our new number “10” when we eventually sign them over the next week!
