Chelsea have announced the signing
of Demba Ba from Newcastle.
The Senegal striker completed his
move this morning and has joined the
Blues on a three-and-a-half year
contract after the club triggered the
£7m release clause in his Magpies
contract.
The former West Ham forward will
wear the No 29 shirt and is available
for selection for tomorrow's FA Cup
match at Southampton, and the
Capital One Cup semi-final against
Swansea.
The 27-year-old said: "It feels good to
be here, I'm very happy and very
proud.
"It was important for me, and for
Newcastle, to get my future sorted
and now we can move on. Now they
have the whole month to buy
someone and for me as well, the
sooner the better.
"Now I am here I just need to get
settled in.
"When the club who won the
Champions League wants you, the
decision is very easy. This club is
massive and that's something that
helped the decision a lot. It was not a
hard one."
Ba is joint-third in the Premier League
scorers table this season with 13
goals so far.
The transfer puts the seal on a
stunning rise from the lower reaches
of French football to the European
champions.
Born in the suburbs of Paris, Ba
played for Port Autonome du Havre,
Montrouge and third division side
Rouen before moving to Mouscron, in
the Belgian top flight.
He then moved to Hoffenheim,
helping them win promotion to the
Bundesliga, and was signed by West
Ham two years ago.
Newcastle swooped after the
Hammers were relegated that season
and Ba played a pivotal role as the
Magpies finished fifth in the top flight
last season.
Chelsea will not lose his services for
the African Nations Cup later this
month as Senegal have not qualified.
Demba Ba factfile
1985: Born May 25, in Sevres, France.
2004: Spends five months at Watford
but does not do enough to earn a
full-time contract with the club.
2005: Signed by Rouen and converted
from a midfielder to a striker.
2006: Moves to Belgian side Mouscron
but breaks two bones in his leg after
scoring in each of his first three
games, with the subsequent surgery
leading to permanent knee damage.
2007: June 2 - Makes a goalscoring
start to his international career with
Senegal, scoring in a 1-1 draw with
Tanzania.
August - Joins Hoffenheim and helps
the club gain promotion to the
Bundesliga in his first season.
2009: A proposed move to Stuttgart
collapses when Ba fails his medical
due to the knee damage suffered in
2006.
2011: January - Another failed medical
prevents a move to Barclays Premier
League side Stoke, but instead
completes a deal to join West Ham on
a pay-as-you-play deal.
May - Scores seven goals in 13 games
for the Hammers but turns down a
new deal when the club are relegated
to the npower Championship,
triggering a clause in his contract that
allows him to negotiate a free transfer
away from Upton Park.
June 17 - Newcastle win the race to
sign Ba, who signs a three-year deal.
September 24 - Scores first goals for
Newcastle with a hat-trick against
Blackburn.
December - Named Barclays Premier
League player of the month.
2012: March - Voted the best Premier
League signing of the season by the
league's managers but does not
score again for the remainder of the
season.
2013: January 2 - European
champions Chelsea invoke a
minimum-fee release clause in Ba's
contract to allow talks between the
club and the player's representatives.
January 4 - Signs for Chelsea in a
three-and-a-half-year deal for an
undisclosed fee.