Ba says he is not looking to leave Newcastle

NEWCASTLEDemba Ba says he is happy at Newcastle United and had no desire to depart during the January transfer window. The Senegal striker’s contract contains a release clause enabling him to leave Tyneside for £7m but Ba has not angled for its activation.“I never talked to anyone to say I wanted to leave,” said Alan Pardew’s No19 who returned from the Africa Cup of Nations to score his 16th goal in as many Premier League games during the 2-1 home win against Aston Villa on Sunday. “I was just listening to people saying ‘He’s going there, he’s going there, he’s going there’ and I had a big smile on my face. It was funny to me. The most important thing is being happy with your football and I am happy here.”Ba’s bright smile seems a little more radiant now that he has been joined by his compatriot, Papiss Demba Cissé, the new owner of Newcastle’s No9 shirt, worn by Alan Shearer, Malcolm Macdonald and Jackie Milburn.Cissé, a £9m purchase from Freiburg, scored the winner against Villa and Ba could not have been more delighted. “I am really, really happy for Papiss,” he said. “It’s really important to score for a new club early on; when you come in and score right away you feel much better. It helps a lot and his was a goal of real class on the perfect return to Newcastle for me. It was such a good day; there wasn’t even too much snow.”

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Ba says he is not looking to leave Newcastle