Newcastle Transfers: 5 Reasons Pardew MUST Keep Demba Ba
3. Replacements
Alan Pardew has confirmed that any players departing in January would be replaced and this will no doubt prompt debate by fans and journalists alike as to the likely replacement options available to Newcastle were Ba to leave.
It has always been notoriously difficult to conduct productive transfer business during the January window, a point which Sir Alex Ferguson re-iterated only this week. Any players signed during this window face the potentially difficult task of integrating within a pre-established team and tactical approach. Many Newcastle fans would point to the recent example of Cisse to show this is possible however bear in mind the aforementioned decrease in Demba Bas productivity of Cisses arrival and it re-affirms the point that a January arrival can potentially be problematic.
To further complicate matters, any potential replacement would need to be suitably convinced that moving to Newcastle mid-season is would be the appropriate action for them, a dilemma not aided by the clubs current league position.