It's Round and It's White
Demba Ba Release Clause Revealed By Spurs Boss
Demba Ba has been an absolute revelation so far in his short time at Newcastle United and if the player of the season polls were to be done now, he would be at the top of most people’s. However, in true Newcastle United soap opera fashion, it has now been made common knowledge. And by none less than by arguably the greatest wheeler dealer in football management Mr Harry Redknapp that he has a release clause in his contract that can be triggered by a bid of around seven million pounds.
The Toon army must now go through a torturous month during this transfer window wondering whether it’s going to be a case of de ja vue after the sale of their star striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool in the last January window.
Surely a businessman like Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will not be sleeping very easy knowing a prized asset such as Demba Ba could be available, especially at what would surely be a fraction of his true value in today’s market. I am sure the board at Newcastle United will be trying to rectify the situation by offering a new contract without the clause or trying to get the clause removed out of his current contract, but while the clause remains in the contract the rumours will persist.
- Demba Ba scoring his 15th goal, but will it be his last for Newcastle?
With 15 goals in the Premier League in 16 games for the Tyne club this season there will be no shortage of interested parties, and the only sticking point may be the degenerative knee condition which will only get worse with time. As such, the problem already scuppered a move to stoke last January when Potteries boss Tony Pulis described it as a ‘ticking time bomb’, and although Demba Ba has not missed a game through injury for Newcastle this season, that knee could prove a problem when trying to pass a stringent medical for a multi-million pound transfer.
The way in which this story has come into the public domain will certainly strain relationships between the Magpies and Tottenham Hotspur and by Harry Redknapp openly talking about a player who is under contract at another club, even going as far as talking about the terms of the players contract could well lead to an official complaint from the North East club.
Whatever the outcome of today’s revelation about Ba’s contract, whether he stays at Newcastle, or a bid comes in to match his release clause and he leaves, Redknapp’s decision to make it public will certainly leave a bad taste in the mouth in the North East and I have a sneaky feeling we have not heard the last of this story, one way or another.
