Pardew looking for Ba replacement
HAPPIER TIMES ... Alan Pardew and Demba Ba.
ALAN Pardew’s confident a new goalscoring hero will emerge from the wreckage of Chelsea-bound Demba Ba’s contract saga.
Ba’s expected to be unveiled at Stamford Bridge in the next 24 hours after the club activated a £7.5m release clause in his St James’s Park deal.
The striker’s future has been the subject of intense speculaton over the past 12 months.
And the focus is now on bringing a replacement to Tyneside, with Olympic Marseille forward Loic Remy on the club’s shopping list.
Last night’s 2-1 home defeat to Everton has left United just two points above the Premier League’s relegation zone, and Pardew admits the club’s predicament has given the search an added urgency.
“He’s scored goals, but it’s done now,” Pardew told the Gazette.
“He’s moved now, and hopefully we’ll have a new hero emerge. I’m sure we will. That’s my next agenda, for sure.
“We’ve got the FA Cup game (against Brighton). We’ve got Norwich in a week’s time – that’s a massive game for us. I’d like to think we’ll be stronger than we were (against Everton).
“We’ve got to get one or two (signings) in.”
Newcastle themselves took advantage of a clause in Ba’s West Ham United contract to sign him on a free transfer in the summer of 2011.
Had the club not agreed to the clauses, Ba – and his goals – wouldn’t have arrived at St James’s Park.
Pardew added: “It’s done – what can we do?
“The clause was there, and it made sense at the time. It made logical sense because of the history of his leg, and everything else.
“The bottom line is that that clause was never something we could control.
“Two years ago, when he came from West Ham, there weren’t too many queuing up.
“We took a chance on him, and the chance has actually worked out better for him, but it’s still worked out well for us.
“He’s been good value for us, but he’s gone.
“I’m glad he hasn’t gone to QPR or somewhere that might have really upset us, but he’s gone to Chelsea, and I hope does well there.”
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Weather for Jarrow
Wednesday 19 June 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
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Light rain
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