Ba Reunion Would Be A Risk, But One Worth Taking

At first glance, bringing Demba Ba back to St. James' Park seems like a no-brainer for Newcastle United.

Manager Alan Pardew could sorely use another bona fide goalscorer. Ba has scored 38 goals in the Premier League over the past 2½ seasons.

Newcastle badly needs some sort of physical presence up front, the type who can hold the ball up and combine with his teammates. Ba excelled at linking with his fellow attackers during his season-and-a-half stint at Newcastle.

The multiple formations employed by Pardew require an adaptable forward who's capable of playing a variety of roles. Ba has extensive experience as an outside forward throughout his career, and also frequently acted as a second striker, playing just underneath the frontline, during his time at Newcastle.

And then there's the intangibles factor. The current team seems to lack self-assuredeness, particularly when things aren't going its way. Ba has a certain bravado and mental strength about him that might be the missing ingredient.

So why should Mike Ashley and Joe Kinnear tread carefully when contemplating re-signing Ba from Chelsea? Because, for all of the needs that Ba addresses, he raises just as many question marks.

First and foremost, how would his teammates react to his return? Ba bailed on them in January in the midst of a turbulent season to land a lucrative three-and-a-half-year contract at the mega-rich London club. It might not be fair to blame Ba for looking for a big payday, considering his deal at Newcastle was reportedly heavy on incentives, but the never-ending speculation fueled by his army of agents didn't paint the picture of a team-first player. Would some players resent Ba for strolling back in less than nine months after leaving?

Would Ba be OK with playing as an outside forward? He was a pretty nice fit on the left of the 4-3-3 alignment Pardew used for part of the second half of the magical 2011-12 season, but it quickly became apparent that Ba preferred to play centrally. Pardew acquiesced to Ba's wishes last season and, while Ba fired in 13 goals in 20 Premier League games, Newcastle's attack as a whole didn't function as smoothly. Has Ba's experience at Chelsea — where he's scored six goals in 23 games and has slid down the depth chart — humbled him slightly?

Can he play with Papiss Cisse? There's no reason why the two Senegalese international teammates can't work effectively in tandem. Ba excels at dropping deep and linking with the midfield. Cisse is a poacher who needs to play off the shoulder of the last defender and lurk in the box. But chemistry is always the secret ingredient in sports, and for whatever reason, Ba and Cisse didn't have it. Could that change the second time around?

And then there's Ba's balky knee, which will almost assuredly end his career at some point but didn't force him to miss any time in his first stint at Newcastle.

Those are some legitimate red flags, and Lyon's Bafetimbi Gomis appears to be Newcastle's top striker option at this point anyway. Still, the club's recruitment efforts are desperate enough that bringing back Ba is an option I'd readily support because the positives outweigh the question marks.

Comments

[12PointLead]

If I recall correctly, Ba didn't score once during Cisse's magical run in 2012. Now that he has dried up, maybe it would be Ba's time to shine?

[M]

imagine if we'd followed up on interest in Michu (touted to many Prem clubs) and Kevin Mirallas (Cabaye's and Debuchy's other best mate) last summer... 8m the pair and there's your goalscoring no.10/wide forward combo

Need to extend our scouting/recruitment beyond Ligue 1... is loaning Ba at ridiculous expense really the best we can come up with???

[@LeeSibbald]

Cisse on the left, Remy on the right, Ba in the middle of a 4-3-3.

Cisse has dried up with the goals, but still makes a huge commitment in effort and running (usually to and from all front three positions). I reckon that could work and lets be honest, whilst Gomis may be the top target of NUFC, we have no idea how he'll actually do in the Premier League. But with Ba you know what you're getting, and as long as you can keep him happy you've got some guaranteed goals right there.

£3m for a loan sounds an awful lot though, if we are truly entertaining that amount I'd rather we went for Lukaku

[Matt B]

If Lukaku were available to loan then Ba wouldn't be! Although with Eto'o and Willian arriving maybe he would. It may sound like a lot of money but we're paying QPR 2 million for Remy... you do the math. I think a better bet would be resign him on a permanent deal but knowing our luck that's when the glass knee shatters....

[jaeger]

from what ive seen he's already stated that he wouldn't want to come back to Newcastle, I don't remember where that source was from but it seems understandable, probably has issues with management.

if he did return, id have a front three of

remy----ba-----ben arfa

and cisse gouffran marv. and shola the possible subs depending on who we're playing

i think we'll get gomis in on sunday, just a guess.

[Uday]

Cisse, Ba and Remy in a line-up wouldn't work. I can see Remy-Cisse and Remy-Ba working. The best though would me Ayew, Remy, Benny.