LONDON — Newcastle United has given European champion Chelsea permission to hold transfer talks with 27-year-old Senegal striker Demba Ba. “Chelsea have made an official offer for Demba Ba which has triggered the release clause in the player's contract,” Newcastle said on its website Wednesday. “The club have given the player permission to speak to Chelsea and therefore he will not be included in the squad for (league) game against Everton.” Newcastle, which is sixth from bottom in the table, did not give details of the release clause, but media reports suggest it is around seven million pounds ($11.38 million). Liverpool has, meanwhile, completed the signing of striker Daniel Sturridge from Chelsea. The 23-year-old England international is Liverpool's first signing of the January transfer window. Sturridge is leaving Chelsea three years after moving to Stamford Bridge from Manchester City. Ba has been a mainstay in attack for the north-east club since joining from West Ham United on a free transfer in June 2011. The striker, who previously had spells with Rouen, Mouscron and Hoffenheim, needed eight games to score his first Newcastle goal, but he ended his drought in style with a hat trick in a 3-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers. Ba finished the 2011-12 campaign as the club's top league scorer with 16 goals including another hat trick against Stoke City. He has continued his free-scoring ways this season, bagging 13 league goals to lie joint second in the overall chart behind Manchester United's Robin van Persie (16). Chelsea is desperate for backup in attack for Spanish international Fernando Torres who is the London team's most-used outfield player this season. Options up front have been limited following the exits of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou in the close season and the decision to allow Romelu Lukaku to join Premier League rivals West Bromwich Albion on loan. England forward Daniel Sturridge has joined Liverpool following an injury-interrupted season with the Stamford Bridge club. McGowan set for China Australian international defender Ryan McGowan is poised to move to China after Hearts manager John McGlynn revealed Wednesday that the Scottish side has accepted a bid from an unnamed Chinese club. As a result, the 23-year-old full-back has been removed from the Hearts squad for the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian in the Scottish Premier League Thursday. Hearts, which is mired in financial problems, is reported to have accepted a bid worth in the region of £400,000 ($650,000, 490,000 euros) for the player. McGlynn said he did not know the identity of the Chinese club but he believed they were based in Shanghai. — Agencies
