Newcastle boss Pardew reveals delay to Demba Ba deal

Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has revealed the club are still some distance away from completing a deal for West Ham striker Demba Ba.

The Senegal man, who failed a medical at Stoke in January, has visited Tyneside for talks and a medical.

"There is an issue about his medical, and there has been in the past," Pardew told BBC Newcastle.

"We've got to overcome those things, but hopefully he can join the club. I think he'll be a big success."

Pardew added: "He's a player that has a natural eye for a goal, my connections at West Ham are very good and I know everything about him.

"I'm pretty relaxed that he can be a success at Newcastle if we can get him but it's a big if at the moment because there are some big hurdles to get across."

The 26-year-old former Hoffenheim forward is understood to have a release clause in the three-year contract he signed with West Ham in January.

Ba scored seven goals in 13 appearances for the Hammers in the 2010/2011 season, but could not prevent their relegation from the Premier League.

If the deal goes through, he will become the first high-profile name to leave West Ham following their drop down to the Championship.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is known to be in the market for at least one striker following Andy Carroll's £35m move to Liverpool in January.

Ba's potential transfer comes as Newcastle captain Kevin Nolan heads in the opposite direction, signing a five-year deal with the Hammers.

His departure is a blow for Pardew, who was keen to retain the services of Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique, three of his highest earners.

However, Nolan rejected the terms of an extension, Barton has not been offered a new deal and Enrique is yet to respond to Newcastle's contract proposal.

"The problem we have got is that Jose won't commit to us, although we've offered him a fantastic contract," Pardew continued.

"With only a year left, we are vulnerable and we have to have some cover should the worst case scenario happen.

"Hopefully it won't happen and I'm still hopeful that Enrique, who was a big player for us last year, will stay and we're still working hard on that."

just been reading that, why cant things be straight forward for us.