EXCLUSIVE: Ba set for swap deal with Kop flop Carroll
Published 22:30 28/01/12 By Paul Smith
Demba Ba will quit Newcastle this summer and pocket a staggering £3million of a £7m buy-out clause.
The Magpies are furious details of the in-form Senegalese striker’s contract have been made public.
But they are resigned to losing the 26-year-old at the end of the season.
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And his advisers made it clear widespread interest in him would inevitably lead to his departure after just one season in the North East.
Six Premier League clubs including Tottenham and Liverpool are ready to meet the buy-out clause leaving Newcastle powerless to keep Ba if the player wishes to move on.
West Ham were in a similar situation when they were relegated from the Premier League last season. Under the terms of Ba’s contract, they were forced to give him a free transfer.
It seems negotiations over Ba’s move to Newcastle last summer depended on the buy-out clause being inserted, after the club refused to meet the player’s personal demands or pay a significant amount of agents’ fees.
Ba, who earns around £30,000 a week plus appearance money, is expected to double his salary with another move and prefers to stay in the Premier League despite interest from European clubs.
His departure will inevitably lead to more speculation about the return of Andy Carroll to Newcastle 18 months after joining Liverpool for a huge £35m.
Carroll’s relationship with Liverpool is disintegrating. Friends claim he would jump at a cut-price return to Newcastle.
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