Chelsea Transfer News: Demba Ba Deal Hinges On Medical

Mirror. The player is thought to have agreed to a three-and-a-half year deal but now faces a nervous wait to see if he passes his medical at Stamford Bridge, with the fear that failure to do so could wreck his move to Chelsea just like it did with Stuttgart and Stoke in January 2011. Ba broke his leg in two places in 2006 and needed a pin inserting to stabilise the fractures. The pin was removed in 2009 but during surgery a tendon in his knee became damaged. It was an issue that nearly derailed his career. During his time at Hoffenheim he failed a medical at Stuttgart and at Stoke in 2011 which ended his dreams of a move. He eventually signed for West Ham United on a pay-as-you-play deal but left the side when they were relegated to the Championship and joined Newcastle in a three-year deal. Since then his career has taken a turn for the better and he ended last season as the Magpies' top scorer with 17 goals. He has added another 13 to that tally since August and has accounted for almost half of Newcastle's goals in the current campaign. That's exactly why Chelsea want to sign him, but he has to pass his medical first. Are his injury nightmares finally behind him?

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Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.