Galatasaray close to sealing Demba Ba transfer from Newcastle United
The Istanbul club had expressed keen interest in Ba earlier this week. However, they were rumoured to have been put off by his high wage demands.
Newcastle United had intended to tie up another contract for the Sengalese front man, but again, had been put off by his ‘excessive wage demands’.
January had seen former Tottenham manager, Harry Redknapp, revealing the striker’s £7million release clause, but it had been expected that the striker would sign a new deal to prevent any cut-price deal from coming to fruition.
But now the striker looks set to depart and to leave in a deal expected to be around £11million.
Sky Italia reported earlier today that Ba had signed for Galatasaray for £11 Million, the Istanbul club are yet to confirm the transfer however, club official Bülent Tulun was in England earlier in the week to discuss a potential move.
Sky Bet have also released a statement on their twitter account relating to the transfer speculations, “We have suspended transfer betting on Demba Ba after lots of stakes & reports on him to join Galatasaray.”
Demba Ba was on blistering form for the Newcastle club last season, bagging 16 goals in 34 appearances for the club (15 of those coming in his first 16 games). His goalscoring touch was instrumental in the club’s unexpected turn of fortune last season, culminating in Europa League qualification.
Although his form did begin to dip towards the end of the season, there is no doubt he has the ability to compete with the league’s elite set of strikers and he could certainly continue to do a job in the Premier League with Newcastle.
His ability did not go unnoticed and he attracted attention from the likes of Tottenham and Arsenal. But now, in a bizarre turn of events, he seems set on a move to Turkey and to last year’s Süper Lig, champions.
Galatasaray are in pursuit of a proven goalscorer this summer. The Istanbul club’s strikers struggled for goals, the majority of goals scored came from the midfield. A player you will know – Johan Elmander, formerly of Bolton – is currently spearheading their attack and there’s no doubt that Demba could take the helm in that department.
Whether this story is completely true is another question. Although he has been heavily linked with numerous clubs, whether he’ll leave or not remains to be seen. The club have come out in the past few hours and rejected these claims, but with the seemingly inevitable transfer of Luuk de Jong to the club, Demba’s departure is beginning to look more certain.
What’s your opinion? Would you rather Demba Ba or the money?
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