'Extensive search' - Brighton confirm first 'summer signings' as key duo arrive

Brighton and Hove Albion have confirmed the arrivals of Professor Doctor Florian Pfab as the club's new head of medicine and Doctor Gary Walker as our new head of performance.

Both will take up their new roles with the Seagulls in the summer, ahead of the pre-season for the 2024/25 season.

Pfab has extensive sports medicine experience from his time in the German Bundesliga, having spent the past five years as medical director and head team physician at SG Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as running his own private clinic in Munich.

Prior to this, he had lengthy spells at FC Ingolstadt and Bayern Munich, and a two-year appointment at Harvard Medical School in the US as a visiting professor. Florian qualified in Germany as a specialist in sports medicine, dermatology, acupuncture, allergology, nutrition, manual therapy and chiropractics.

Waker is a performance specialist and is currently director of sports performance for FC Cincinnati in the MLS. He has a PhD in Exercise Physiology, and spent more than a decade of his early career working at Manchester United, as head of strength and conditioning before becoming their men's first-team fitness coach. He held this role for five years before moving to Cincinnati to take his current role in 2019.

Technical director David Weir said, "After an extensive and thorough search process, we are delighted that Florian and Gary will be joining us this summer.

"Both have excellent experience in their respective professional fields, and what has been clear in the recruitment process is that they share our vision of the performance environment for our men's and women's staff and players.

"We have developed a world-class training facility and our aim is to give our men's and women's first-team, and academy squads the best possible medical and sports science support.

"We look forward to welcoming Florian and Gary to the club in the summer ahead of the new season."