Demba Ba Deal Nearly Done

Finally we get a striker...Hope our huge exxpectations doesnt bother him...Let him play his natural game and enjoy it..That will ensure we also enjoy his goals...

Shlok just shut up man. The lad was on 20K and another 20k based on performance. Since he has performed quite well he is essentially on 40k. If you think the extra 35k (which you and I are not even sure of) is too much to pay for the second best striker in the league,then you need your head checked. Your negativity is so annoying. I pity your family members and those that have to listen to your trash all day.

If Fernando Torres is at around 200 Ks then Demba Ba is just working for peanuts.

loooooooool @zilosxp, well said mate ;)

Comments like those from Shlok 27 are just comical. We are talking of a player who is in the top 3 as far as goal production this season so far in the BPL and was among the top 5 last season as well. I was actually shocked to hear how little NewCastle were paying him..they really were low balling the poor fella. Frankly if i were Ba i would have been unhappy with my agent not because of the pay but the duration of the contract. At 3.5 yrs that will take him to 31 yrs and we all know what happens then..either no more contracts or 1 yr extensions thereafter. If his agents had been smarter they would have asked for a slightly smaller pay but at least a 4 yr and if possible 5 yr contract. El nino's agents did him a great favor. The guy is set for his life thanks to that 5 yr contract he hoodwinked Roman and co into giving him. I actually think this is a decent deal for both parties. I am hoping the guy can lace it up for us against South Hampton on saturday because playing away from home in a one of game i dont want to see El nino anywhere because that match is no gimme..not after the debacle we just served up against QPR.

is 70k too much for Ba, how much are chelsea players earning b4 sign with us, players like hazard,torres, cahil, oscar and many more when you are comlaining of Ba, english wahala no go end

thank god, now torres can be benched, where he belongs

Hopfully the deal will get done today...At least one can breath a sigh of relief...@Desmond i kinda get what you mean by not starting him right away on saturday...but meen Torres is just irritating, watching him is close to seeing an horror movie..even though to be fair to FT9 fatigue must have been playing some part, he has played way too many games already..But Players react differently to pressure...if I am RaFa even if i dont start BA, 'll take him along and name him on the bench...give torres the entire day off and start with Moses or Piazon...ba dint play midweek so should be kinda fresh...but to support what you said, Strikers get a lot more confident when they start scoring early especially in a new team so it might be better to bed them in carefully and throw them in the mix after some training sessions with the team but can we afford that right now?...AVB did that to cahill and cahill benefitted immensly..but then the crazy Mourinho bought Wesley from madrid and played him the same day (mad stuff), and Carlo killed FT9 by giving him a baptism of fire against his former team after just a few days of his transfer from liverpool..so it depends really on the coach and the player...and the situation should be managed carefully...this kind of discussion should never be coming up you know, if only FT9 was just a quarter decent...shame really!!

@hazard and layorh I get u on what gabeu wrote now, I never thought a day would come when chelsea will be reliant on a player, heck!! Ba's presence might be a boost to the team admittedly, but as a chelsea fc fan with our squad currently rated as worth £325m, I really think our second stream should do the job, not that I pray we should use them, cos it backfired against qpr (when it wasn't a real second stream), which brings me to a realization that our team is obviously filled with mediocre players with only JT,mata,hazard,cech and maybe oscar as the only worldclass players we have in our team!!!!

@layorh,gabeu and anybody that wants to have a huge laugh this morning, please read this article and its comment section!!! LoL!!!! www.weaintgotnohistory.com/2013/1/4/3831320/demba-ba-agrees-to-terms-passes-chelsea-medical#comments

Where's Moses @ Desmond....watching d match against qpr was just frustrating, we cudnt even move in a high tempo, d build-up was slow, d players were evriwia, even Iva was a luiz 2.0, we dont only nid a striker, we nid bodies, our startin 11 is always Cech,Azpi,Iva,Cahill,Cole,Luiz,Lamps/mikel/ram,Moses,Mata,Hazard,T9....y we nid bodies is becoz wit dat 11 we hav no cb on d bench,a vry slow and old rb,no striker too, no real game changer except maybe Oscar.

I know we played poorly against QPR but the way you guys degrade our team leaves a lot to be desired.Speaking of worldclass players,even Manure have less than 4 worldclass players and *****ty maybe 5.Point is if you have a worldclass striker like RVP or Tevez/Aguero,the other player around them will perform like worldstars.Just get rid of Torres for a class striker and then watch the space!

Hmm! Lets get these deal wrapped up so i can celebrate,am not relaxed until its OFFICIAL...then torres can go feck himself for all i care

@bluekid, you have a point, but I disagree, look at valencia when he was bought from wigan, the shifts he puts in everyday, he wasn't bought for a huge amount, but he does what SAF requires of him consistently, say whatever u like about the man, he is a world class player in my books

@Des.Yes Valencia is worldclass but if I recall his 1st season he was prety average.Judging from what I've seen from Moses,he's better tha Valencia's debut season imo.Time will tell.

SAF bought Valencia for 16m to be precise from Wigan desmond, how's that not a huge amount?

Valencia was bought from wigan 4 16mil and wasnt worldclass then but players like rooney,berbatov,hernandez,welbek and rvp made him worldclass thanks to their clinical finishin of his deliveries

I've been surfing the Chelsea official site for abt 10 tyms today....I've got a feeling he failed d medical #just sayin

Chokoz, read my comment again, u'll see that we are saying the same thing, about ba, well I think there might be something wrong, it should have been announced since yesterday night!!! I have been visiting numerous sites and reading so many tweets!!!

@Desmond...scary stuff, i hope not...i dont wanta think about it...that will be a major set back..and at least 2 more weeks oF having to consistently watch FT9..God forbid...the link you gave on Ba signing was simply fab...ve been laffing my bones out...the part i found most hilarious was when some guy said ba should take up the no9 jersey and FT9's jersy number should be changed to 50...and jersey name - CRAP-....effing funny...i cant laff enough!!!!!..thanks mate

Nando needs rest,he has played 95% of our games this season. So Ba starting against Southampton is fine by me,that's if the deal is wrapped up before mid-day today or he won't be eligible to play.

OFFICIAL:torres is benched www.dembaba.com/metochelsea/ transfer.LoL Hey MQ how u dey?

So, its official, he wont be playing against Southampton #dats if we sign him#, so we're gonna be playing @ dier home wit 9 players...just dont call T9 and Turnbull, they are just dere to occupy space

lets try moses as a cf again,can't stand to watch another match with torres as a starter,hopefully the demba ba transfer can go smoothly :(

Folks, i just think we need another striker like Hernan Crespo. I know about FFP and its impacts and useless Torres occupying a space. If we can't buy another striker we should recall Lukaku. There will be many games this season when we will be in 'crisis minutes'. Against QPR, after 70 minutes we were in 'Crisis Minutes'. In these crisis minutes we need predators, poachers, perfect goal scorers. Unfortunately, we didn't have any against QPR. we all know that Hazard, Mata, Oscar/Moses aren't natural goal scorers/finshers. at some point, we will have to play with 3 strikers. Man U/City can play with 3/4 strikers when the situation demands. But we can't. We are in this situation only because of poor planning and a certain useless crap called 'Torres'. However, in a nutshell we need another goal scorer/ we need to recall Lukaku

hopefully we'll hear the announcement in the next 10-15 min??.....please??

@nely if Ba does not fit into our style of play by any chance, then we'll be in some sort of trouble..as cos as things stand we only have 2 CFs (thats if the ba signing goes through)...hopfully we can just manage to secure a top4 finish..most importantly..

tits just about 15 minutes more before lunch time...!!!!!.....

Gabu have you ever heard of Southampton before mate ??? A few times now you have called them South Hampton and your supposed to be a writer on this site ??? mmmmmmm

Just like rapture....poops!!..its official on CFC website...ba signing completed....12noon sharp...!!!!...good stuff...congrats guys!!!!

Guys ,the deal is done, He is chelsea already. He has been presented and he will be wearing Jersey no 29. I said it first.

Jersey no 29!!!......welcome to chelsea..

Ba might probably be on FNL tonight.

Guys is there more shocking news for us as fans??.... Diario de Sevilla: Sevilla have turned down a €16million (£13m) offer for striker Alvaro Negredo from an unnamed club, who are believed to be Chelsea...it seems like we might be getting one more striker...i hope so...i really hope so...although we need at least one more body in central midfield

Thank goodness... Ba just do us a favour and score at least 2 goals tomorrow and letz end Torres career together... Lol...

heheeeeeeeeeee hurrrayyyy a stricker at last ooooohhh i cant help but laugh heheeeee

I can imagine the english media saying we got demba ba for 26m, dumbskulls, they always like to pressurize chelsea, I hope we get another striker and a combative midfielder too

if we get another striker , we'll have 4 by summer , no thanks , 2 is enough for half a season and lukaka in the summer.

@Desmond..my major worry now with the midfield, I still think we are 1 or 2 shot depending on how the coach sees it...if he rates Mikel, then we are one shot...but he does not we are 2 short. While a deep lying playmaker is a must, i also would not play Luiz in DM against top opposition...so if tubby does not rate Mikel which is no worries for me then he should sign a proper DM...he can choose to play Luiz as a box2box..its no worries...

Cfctalal, people like u were the one that said we don't need to buy any other striker in the summer, see what it caused us last year

GUYS! Here is a conspiracy theory for those who are inquisitive at heart.I am thinking more into the jersey number 29 given Ba at Chelsea. 29 = 2nd Nos 9. What if afterall this, the club and Roman still would prefer Torres because of their investment. Or it could just mean 29 = 2wice the No 9 we have had all season.

Fernando, due to the arrival of Demba Ba, we will be introducing you to your companion who will be with you till the end of the season. Fernando meet The Bench, The Bench meet Fernando.

@jayi hope that is true, although i will prefer a player like Jovetic to Negredo..he is younger and very dynamic...but jan31st is still far off..lets see what the board does..i somehow do think we are after taison if he is able to get a work permit...although i dont know why we are after him...his stats posted on VC were not very impressive maybe Emenalo is seeing somthing we are not seeing...i hope he is seeing right though...its the central midfield role i have no clue what the club's intentions are....are we going to recall essien (i dont think so...chelsea is like a mafia..he asked to go on loan, i dont see him playing for us again)...so i am for trying to see if we can get some value from the market...time will tell

@theincredible..interesting theory..but 'll prefer to keep things simple...he wanted no19 which was not available as its Paulo's number..and he took 29 which makes some sense...more importantly i hope he bangs in the goals...showing torres the way its done

Sevilla president just confirmed the club declined a 17m offer for Negredo...the general gist flying around is that its chelsea who made the offer...now that we have signed Ba, i honestly dont think we should sign Negredo...but hey thats my opinion m sure the board has their own ideas...fingers crossed

@Layorh, that was intended for laffs. I believe he will come good provided Roman still isn't insisting we play Torres ahead of him. He is a business man and he might still be thinking his investment is only taking a little longer for earn a return .

Glad the deals done. More worried about what this means for Lukaku though, hop he doesnt have to do a sturridge

Forgive me if I missed this, but couldn't see anything in the comments above. Has anyone got confirmation of whether Ba will be able to play in Europe?? He has played for Newcastle in the initial qualifying match for Europa, and I'm not surte whether cup tied status extends to the qualifying rounds. If it does then we still only have 1 striker available in Europe! Maybe that's why there's so many rumours about Negredo? He wouldn't be cup-tied for us!

who let the drog's out..ba ba ba ba!! !! !! !! who let the drog's out..ba ba ba ba!! !! !! !! who let the drog's out..ba ba ba ba!! !! !! !! who let the drog's out..ba ba ba ba!! !! !! !!

If Torres remains first choice then it is absolutely clear once and for all that Roman not only picks the players but he also picks the team. Also if he is desperate to get rid of Lampard why doesn't he sign Sneijder? We can get him for virtually nothing, his wages are not much more than Frank's and he's 6 years younger.

layorh12, I'm not necessarily expecting RVP like numbers but he's been in England 3 years I think, and has scored regularly for both WHU & Newcastle when he has played centre forward. He has to be a massive upgrade on Torres who wouldn't get game for Villa or QPR.

CobhamBlue, I agree, for once.

Sniejder for Lampard. Great idea. I didn't think of that.

But the most possible transfer would be Diame. We need him in midfield.

Now, who is next? Another striker and a pivot player that can distribute the ball/playmaker. Regarding the fact that we are out of the CL, cannot offload Fernando Sissy, we cannot win the BPL, Lampard is here until the end of the season, Essien is avaible, Yossi is back and we can recal McEchran; I am pretty happy with the team we have until the end of the season.

I am waiting for the first person that would say ba aint chelsea quality and is a mid table team striker....... If we can get that elusive regista and a back up goalie for cech!! Then I'll watch our games this season with my heart out of my mouth and where it ought to be naturally, lord pls don't let rafa select rossy turnbull tommorow, hilario won't kill as fast as turnbull

Maybe Atletico can take Torres on loan? Would it be possible?

icebluelg - 1)Chelsea needs a playmaker/passer for the pivot either Josh McEachran or someone else is of massive priority. 2) Chalobah will be better than both Mikel and Romeu...to make way for Chalobah next year or soon after...I would sell Romeu...3) I am a big Fellaini fan..while he is not a passer/playmaker he is valuable as he can play either DM or box to box. Thus, for those tough physical games he brings it to the table and can score goals at the same time. Assuming Lamps moves on...Ramires would be second choice to Fellaini..That would give you Mikel/Chalobah and a passer/playmaker with Fellaini/Ramires as well. Chalobah has massive potential and needs playing time. So, if Chalobah can get significant game time and I really mean significant game time then he needs to get another contract extension and then loan him out to a lower level preimer league team for another year. Same with Piazon....this kid also needs to play and a lot...

WELCOME DEMBA BA TO THE GARDEN OF CHELSEA FC good luck and pray hard to be a proven goal scorer

any more news on the transfers?

i am not going to be happy with this signing until i see torres on the bench ,,,

I am late to the party but let me join the rest of the Blue nation in saying Welcome aboard to the Chelsea FC, Demba Ba ..may your time with us be graced with goals galore and great success for you and for our beloved club..Amen!!!.

Hi all fellow chelsea fans first post on here.id like to start with a little song for our new striker..coleen rooney she wears a wonder bra when she's shagging Wayne rooney she thinks of demba ba!!!! Haha

Media is talking about all Chelsea strikers have flopped apart from Drogba, people talking about Demba Ba that will he suit our style of play, all I can say is as long as he is playing as a LONE striker, we will create chances for him and he will score goals, he will show Lady Torres what you are suppose to do in the 18 yard box i.e. not to run out of the 18 yard box. He will make the runs and EPL defenders will be thinking Drogba (Part 2) is back, he will show Torres how to hold the ball up, Mazcar & rest of the team will ASK Rafa to play Demba instead of Torres all the time.

Anelka was sick. so was crespo but he wasn't given a proper chance. mutu took coke, hows tht our fault. kezman/sheva/torres fine. sheva flopped because jose nvr wanted him nd played him 2nd fiddle 2 DD. pizzaro was a free agent nd nvr given a chance. studge was good but was treated like *****. he will cm bk 2 haunt us. so really only 3 STs failed.

Hopefully the arrival of DEMBA,would BA torres from our starting lineup

This is great news....we actually have a striker who can hold up the ball now. I do think we need to sign another striker come the summer. Maybe a Cavani if not Falcao. A Falcao-Ba or Cavani-Ba sounds deadly. Especially with the likes of Mata, Hazard, Oscar, Moses behind them. Also we need to get Poorres off the wage bill..He is not going to come back ever!

@Desmondadonis, how did you know this guy Facundo Ferreyra. he is like a combination of Kun Aguero and Chicharito. I wish the board knows about him, because they rarely know about talents who are unknown in global scale.

i tweeted this when news broke - In January Chelsea sign a real striker; a real one; for a bargain price; and one who scored goals and is in form. I am delighted. Truly am. hardly seen him before when he was at west ham but at newcastle i have been impressed. Has a rocket of a shot; is good in the air and gambles in positions. Yes his link up play is not that great; but he will stick to playing up front and will get into better positions. The question about if he is better than torres will pop up and most likely wont be answered; but i would start him ahead of the torres we have without a doubt. Let the others do the setting up and link up. Did i say i was happy with the signing?

@layorh12 cheers matey thanks for the welcome

@chelsea ken forgive our manners, welcome to VC, its one big family despite our constant banter and bickering!!! @miamaynard, are u still undecided about who is better between torres and demba ba? Its true that his stats doesn't raise an eyebrow like that of the cavanis and falcaos, but I must say if his knee holds up, u'll see the difference between him and torres in about 30minutes of play, besides he'll get better service from our midfield from whatever he is getting at castle

@desmond I have been reading for quite a while mate just joined today though I enjoy the comments especially from @mq has he does get a reaction but @shlok has got to be the most depressing chelsea fan ever so negative on everything new signings wins etc chin up man haha

lamarochs and Latunvic thanks for the info.

We definitely need to sign one more striker or attacking player who is a reliable goal scorer, especially with the fact that Ba wont be available for Europa league.... though this could be a blessing in disguise as he can focus on EPL and leave Europa for Torres and whoever else we sign....

It is going to be interested to see if Javier Hernandes-Chicharito becomes avaible, with reports that manure will sign Lewandovski in the summer, they also signed young Angelo Henriquez and they stll have Wellbec and Macheda on their books. Out of all these strikers, only Hernandes seems likely to move.

I think Schlok has something against players from a certain continent or of a certain race. He is the same guy who slates Mikel even in games that he did not play LOL

Isco (will turn 21 this April) we can sign him now so we can put him on and when Mata (will turn 25 this April) needs a rest or we can go for Willian (will turn 25 this August) because Mata can't play every single game he needs some rest. Benat is only 1 year younger than Moutinho, Moutinho has champions league experience but I am not sure who will do better in the PIVOT/Deep laying play maker role, who is better at FIRST TIME SHORT/LONG FORWARD passes, who is better at tackling, better at tracking back, who can switch play easily from left to right and vice versa.

Moutinho with what I saw in the euros wasn't impressive as I expected, moutinho is still in the champions league with porto and won't want to play in the europa, moutinho will surely be more expensive than benat, what we need is a player who is technically gifted, that can pass and make tackles, someone that will dictate the play and transit from defense to attack, with the information I have gathered so far since yesterday from fans, they believe benat would be a good buy for us, a fan told wrote that the only player he'll take ahead of benat in this window is fellaini

chelsea should go for benat he playes deep and he is one who can run the show from behind for our attackers....isco is a great talent but we have haz mata oscar kdb who are of same style....we need a deep playmaker and at present benat is the one who can provide that one...we need a olaymaker this season let haz mata oscar play their style....would be a great addition if we sign will complete our puzzle if we sign him...

In Benat we would get, what we lack at the moment. He is a playmaker, can also provide defence slicing passes, is strong in duals, can keep the ball, when he is challenged unlike Torres, is good defensively and seems he also have a strong character (my impresion). I preffer him to Moutinho, Modrić and Thiago Alcantara are also two options.

We don't need Isco. We have Mata, Hazard, and Oscar. Oscar can't get into the team, why sign another one?

I think looking at the positive than the negative was the key to chelsea going for Ba, and it is proving to be a great aquisition since he seems to understand things around and fast