Chelsea Complete Signing Of Demba Ba From Newcastle

With the January transfer window now open for business we’ll be keeping you up-to-date with all the latest transfer gossip. Today, Chelsea confirm the signing of Demba Ba.

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of striker Demba Ba from Newcastle for an undisclosed fee on a three-and-a-half-year contract.

After weeks of speculation over his future, the European champions have finally announced the signing of the 27-year-old hitman on their official website, with the BBC claiming the fee is in the region of £7m.

The move brings to an end an 18-month stay at St James Park where he scored 29 goals in 54 games for the Geordies after making a free-transfer move from West Ham in 2011.

His arrival will provide interim boss Rafa Benitez will some much-needed options up front with the Spaniard being heavily reliant on Fernando Torres so far this season.

Ba, who will wear the No.29 shirt, will be eligible for this weekends FA Cup match against Southampton and the Capital One Cup semi-final against Swansea, but won’t be able to feature in the Europa League as he’s already played in the competition for Newcastle this season.

Speaking to ChelseaFC.com, Ba said he was very happy to make the move to Stamford Bridge and is pleased his future was sorted out early in the window:

‘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.’

Are Chelsea fans excited by the arrival of Demba Ba? Get involved in the comments section below.