Demba Ba’s Departure: My Reaction

Aug 10, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Chelsea forward Demba Ba (19) and AS Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman (6) react to a call during the second half at RFK Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports

When I read that a deal for Demba Ba to depart Chelsea for Turkish side Besiktas was completed, I was initially surprised. At the end of the season and start of the transfer window, I recalled reading [here] that Demba Ba was initially told by manager Jose Mourinho that he had a place in the squad for next season and that he had asked the Senegalese man to stay. Ba said he felt his patience at Chelsea was a reward and that good things would follow for him.

I had thought this coming season we would see a competition between Romelu Lukaku, Diego Costa, Demba Ba and (maybe) Fernando Torres for the striker position.

See, I had this great theory that during the purchase of Diego Costa, Chelsea would somehow package Torres back to the club where he made his name at a reduced ‘hometown rate’ of sorts, which would be a win for all involved. That never happened, (or at least not yet) and so we were left with 4 strikers on the books, of which we would likely only ever use 2 in a given match.

However with the capture of Diego Costa made official this week and the difficulty associated with selling a player on the high wages of Fernando Torres, it would seem Ba was no longer deemed necessary to Mourinho’s plans. Despite scoring some decisive goals for Chelsea, including the winner in the comeback against Paris Saint-Germain, Ba was resigned to an impact sub role off the bench for the Blues after transferring from Newcastle in January 2013.

While he didn’t exactly light up the pitch for the Blues, Ba was a class act at Chelsea and is the kind of player any team would love to have, especially at the relatively low price Besiktas secured him at. (£4.75m, according to this excellent article over at We Ain’t Got No History breaking down the numbers).

In my opinion and based on his success in the Premier League, I think Demba Ba will do very, very well in Turkey and could easily score bags full of goals for the Black Eagles. Besiktas have never been relegated from the Turkish top flight, which they last won in 2008/9 while they completed a domestic double.

I wish him all the best in Turkey.

UTC!

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