Alan Pardew's hopes of persuading Demba Ba to ditch his release clause look doomed after it emerged the Newcastle striker stands to pocket an incredible £2.5million from it.
Angered by the constant speculation caused by the £7.5m exit clause in Ba’s contract, Pardew challenged him to drop it and negotiate a new deal or be put up for sale.
The ultimatum looks like having only one outcome, following news of the windfall awaiting Newcastle’s top scorer once the contractual agreement kicks in.
Anyone offering the stipulated amount will not only land one of the Barclays Premier League’s most accomplished finishers but make him £2.5m richer, according to The Sun, with just £5m going to Newcastle.
It is a nightmare scenario for Pardew, who already feared he would be ill-equipped to recruit an adequate replacement with £7.5m at his disposal. With the figure trimmed to £5m, he will find it even harder to fill the boots of the Senegal marksman, who now seems certain to be heading out of Tyneside when the window opens next week.
Ba has stubbornly resisted all efforts to draw him to the negotiating table, and the reasons why are now evident after it transpired a third of the fee will go directly to him.
A free transfer from West Ham 18 months ago, the 11-goal marksman has attracted strong interest from Arsenal, QPR, Liverpool and Paris St Germain, who will all be alerted to a development that signals his imminent departure.
The 27-year old is thought to favour a move to The Emirates, but Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has reservations over his £80,000-a-week wage demands, particularly given the knee problems that deterred other clubs from moving for him when he arrived from the Bundesliga.
Wenger has not ruled out a third spell at the club for Thierry Henry despite being linked with the Newcastle striker as well as Barcelona's David Villa.
New York Red Bulls striker Henry reported for training with the Gunners today during the MLS close-season.
'I’ve not lost interest in him,' said Wenger when asked about the Arsenal record scorer.
'He’s still coming today to practice with us. We are very close but at the moment, I think he has had a second spell at the Club that was very successful. You have to be cautious that it’s not one time too many. I have not completely ruled it out but I haven’t spoken about it with him at all.'
Wenger added: 'I like Demba Ba, yes, but I don’t think this is the right place to speak about that, because he plays against us on Saturday. I wouldn’t like to put Newcastle or us or him in an uncomfortable position. If you ask me "Do we sign Demba Ba?" I say no.'
Pardew is already making plans for life without Ba and is lining up a move for Marseille’s Loic Remy.
However, Pardew is trying to remain confident the player is happy to stay in the North East, but will not allow the speculation to drag on until summer.
The 51-year-old said: 'Really and truly this window is the key, I think, because if Demba goes in this window, it will cause us a problem.
'I think he will stay, but there's a possibility he could go because of the clause that's still in force. In the summer, I won't let it run until the summer. I'll do something about it.
'We will either move Demba on or we will secure him in the summer.'
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