Newcastle United Transfer News: Demba Ba Crisis Meeting This Week

The Daily Mail reports that Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew will meet with Demba Ba this week in an attempt to convince his unsettled striker that he is a key part of the club's future project. The news comes after Turkish giants Galatasaray activated Ba's release clause (somewhere in the region between £7 and £9 million) which granted them permission to talk to the striker about a move abroad, which took place last week. Newcastle United soon shot down last week's reports in the Italian press of Ba's talks with the club but The Daily Mail and other British newspapers suggest they did happen and also claim that Fenerbache may have also activated the release clause. The Senegalese international scored 16 goals last season and became an instant hero on Tyneside for his performances in the first half of the season. Ba however went through a shaky spell when his Senegalese team-mate Papiss Cisse came to the club and Ba was eventually pushed out to the wide left with Hatem Ben Arfa also forcing his way into a new luck 4-3-3 formation. Most Newcastle fans, given the transfer clause, Mike Ashley's unwillingness to offer a significant increase on wages and Ba's unhappiness in the past few months - expect Ba to leave the club this summer and Newcastle's recent offers for 21-year-old Dutch sensation Luuk de Jong could have signalled him as a replacement. Alan Pardew however is desperate to keep Ba and will try and convince him to stay as the window on his clause runs out on July 31st and Premier League clubs that are interested, like Tottenham Hotspur, will be getting itchy trigger fingers on making an offer.

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