10 Players Who Regret Leaving Newcastle United

1. Demba Ba

This one is contentious because Demba Ba is a man that knew he wanted a move away from Newcastle the moment he signed on a free from West Ham United in 2011. A supremely talented striker, Ba scored 29 goals in 54 games during his 18-month long Newcastle career, before moving to Chelsea.

It was always on his mind to fast-track his way to the top, evidenced by the £7.5 million buy-out clause in his contract that made his move to The King's Road possible. The Senegal striker was loved at Newcastle not only for his goals, but his charm off the pitch and his strawberry syrup drinking habits! His all-round game being excellent, there is no doubting his ability to play at a very high level, but the man who was never supposed to get this far into his career due to a chronic knee issue never had it as good as he did at St James' Park.

It started so well for him at Chelsea but after falling out with Jose Mourinho he flittered around China and Turkey - where he currently plays for champions İstanbul Başakşehir - without ever returning to any of Europe's top leagues. Newcastle might not have returned to the Champion's League if he'd stayed, but they definitely wouldn't have been relegated either.