Following reports by the Mirror that he was set for a move to Turkey, Demba Ba is now close to completing his transfer to Besiktas. The striker has played in Premier League since signing for West Ham in 2011 and leaves England having scored 50 goals in all competitions.
Prior to his arrival at Stamford Bridge, the Senegal international was a man known simply for putting the ball in the back of the net. There were no other elements of Ba’s game that were highly talked about, as what he did was important enough on its own and made him the type of player many teams would love to have.
At Chelsea, however, the forward’s incredible ratio of better than a goal every other game in the Premier League began to fade. This was somewhat surprising given Ba netted seven in 12 during his six months at Upton Park before playing a key role in Newcastle impressively securing fifth place in 2012, the Magpies’ highest top flight finish in eight years.
With the Blues tending to play a lone striker Ba had to compete with Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto’o for a place in the starting lineup last season, a battle which often saw the Senegalese left on the bench. Limited gametime subsequently saw him struggle to perform consistently, although the 29-year-old did score one of the most significant goals of the season after capitalising on Steven Gerrard’s slip in Chelsea’s 2-0 win at Anfield.
As he prepares to begin a new chapter in his career, Ba will be looking to get back to his old ways. Whether he can succeed in Turkey is yet to be seen, but Besiktas will certainly be hoping that it turns out to be Chelsea’s loss and their gain.