By PAT SHEEHAN
ARSENE WENGER will go all out to sign Demba Ba in January.
The Arsenal manager knows he can land the Senegal striker for £7.5million due to a buy-out clause in his Newcastle contract.
Wenger is desperate for a proven Premier League striker after selling Dutch superstar Robin van Persie to Manchester United.
And he believes Ba could be the answer. Despite intense speculation last summer, no club stepped forward to trigger Ba’s clause — but Toon manager Alan Pardew revealed it will re-activate next month.
Arsenal are ready to offer him £60,000 a week plus add-ons.
Newcastle’s board have tried everything to persuade the hotshot, who scored twice in last night’s 3-0 home win over Wigan, to sign a new improved contract — with the buy-out clause either greatly increased or taken out completely.
But Ba, signed from West Ham on a free after they were relegated in 2011, has refused all offers and Wenger is poised to make his move.
He believed he had found an answer to Arsenal’s lack of goals when he signed Olivier Giroud in the summer. But the Frenchman has netted just three times in the league.
Ba, 27, who has a year left on his current deal, is keen to stay with Newcastle.
A source close to the player said: “Demba wants to be paid what he thinks he deserves but remains committed to the club. He loves it at Newcastle and wants it to be sorted out as soon as possible.”
