‘Really excited’ - Newcastle United complete Sunderland swoop following farewell message

Catherine Shields has joined Newcastle as a new Under-18s performance analyst as the improvements behind the scenes at the academy continue. Shields joins The Magpies after six years with local rivals Sunderland in a similar role.

Last week, Shields took to LinkedIn to confirm her departure from the Academy of Light.

“After six seasons, today marked my last day at Sunderland AFC,” she wrote. “Thank you to all of the staff and players, both past and present, who I’ve had the pleasure of working alongside. “I am really excited about my next chapter and the new challenges ahead. It’s time for a few days off to recharge ready for what’s to come.”

Shields’ arrival is the latest in several new additions made at the club’s academy since Dan Ashworth’s appointment as sporting director at Newcastle over a year ago.

Over the last 12 months, Ashworth has appointed Paul Midgley (head of youth recruitment), Paul Mclaren (head of national youth scouting 13s to 18s) and Ciaran Hughes (Lead Video Analyst) from Manchester City, Edward Black (lead academy scout U9s to U14s) from Arsenal, Jordan Davison (under-21s performance analyst) from Leeds United, Delroy Ebanks (academy lead scout for the South of England) from West Ham United, Oliver Slater (positional analyst) from Blackburn Rovers,Josh Appleyard (positional analyst) from Norwich City, Andy Basterfield (North West regional scout for under-13 to under-18s) from Manchester United and now Shields from Sunderland.

Newcastle’s recruitment network and resources to identify emerging talent has increased significantly as a result.