Yesterday at the Football Transfer Tavern we reported that Newcastle United forward Demba Ba could be set for a move to Paris Saint Germain, yet today The Sun report that Newcastle could well hang on to the player if the release clause is removed from his contract.

Much has been made of the striker’s £7.5 million release clause in his contract and most smart bets were on the player leaving the Magpies in January with Newcastle looking at a number of replacements for the player who has done so well for them.

Today however, Alan Pardew has weighed in on the situation and claimed that this is a key window, and should the player fail to move, the club will secure him on a new deal making leaving not an option. Pardew claimed: “I think he will stay, but there’s a possibility he could go because of the clause that’s still in force. 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.”

Of course as our landlord pipes up, had the club been as vigilant with Ba’s contract as they seemed to be when they handed their manager an eight year deal there would not be an issue now.

The 27-year-old is believed to want a move in order to increase both his wages and chances of competing in Champions League football, yet rumoured interest from Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal to name but two has not materialised into anything concrete thus far.

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