Ba deal on hold

Newcastle striker Demba Ba could be staying with the club until at least the end of the English Premier League season.

Ba reportedly had unproductive talks with Chelsea on the eve of the January transfer window, with his seven-million pound release clause to become active at the start of 2013.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said he was almost prepared to allow Ba to leave his side at the end of the campaign.

“In some respects I feel a little bit sorry for Demba,” Pardew said.

“There are people out there fuelling this who are not actually involved or want to be involved and that’s the sort of world that we are in.

“The contract is what it is, we are all aware of that, and for me as the manager I need it resolved as quickly as possible. That’s the best situation for our fans and for the club.

“The situation with that is that it’s getting close to the point where we say ‘no more’, but the offer is still there.”

In other transfer news, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is unwilling to allow any players to leave the Etihad Stadium club.

“We can’t sell players, we can’t. We don’t have enough to play if we sell players,” the Italian said.

Elsewhere, Arsenal have reportedly launched a 10-million pound bid for Atletico Madrid forward Adrian Lopez, while AC Milan’s Pato is set for a move back to Brazil.

Tottenham goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini will join the Los Angeles Galaxy, the two clubs have confirmed.

The 39-year-old Italian arrived at White Hart Lane in January 2009, but made just 37 appearances in all competitions over three years.


In recent times he found his first-team opportunities limited by the presence of both Hugo Lloris and Brad Friedel, and will now make the same move as former team-mate Robbie Keane did in 2011.



“We are delighted to be able to add Carlo Cudicini to our roster,” Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena said. 



“Carlo is an experienced and accomplished goalkeeper who we believe will be a great addition to our team and our defensive unit.”