Transfer wrap: Ba move finalised, Cole a Hammer

Chelsea have signed Newcastle striker Demba Ba while Joe Cole joined former club West Ham in a busy day of transfer activity on Thursday.

Just four days after the January window opened, several clubs were active with Chelsea’s capture of Ba the main move of the day.

The European champions announced the signing of the Senegalese forward on a three-and-a-half year deal, and while the fee is undisclosed, it is expected to be Newcastle’s seven-million pound release clause.

Ba has bagged 13 English Premier League goals for Newcastle this season, leaving him equal third in the scoring charts, while he has netted 29 in 54 league appearances for the club.

Cole – who joined West Ham at the age of 11 – has left Liverpool to ink an 18-month deal with the Upton Park outfit.

The 31-year-old made 126 senior appearances for the club before leaving for Chelsea in 2003.

He spent seven years at Stamford Bridge but stints at Liverpool and Lille – the latter on loan – were not as successful, leading to his move to West Ham.

Newcastle bolstered their defence with the signing of French defender Mathieu Debuchy from Lille for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old starred for France at Euro 2012 and Newcastle – who were keen on signing the right-back in the build-up to the Premier League season – finally got their man after parting with a reported fee of five million pounds.

Debuchy, who has made 12 appearances for his country, has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract with Newcastle.

Premier League strugglers QPR snaffled free agent Tal Ben Haim on a free transfer, with the Israeli defender – who counts Manchester City, Bolton and West Ham as his former clubs – signing until the end of the season.

Honduran midfielder Roger Espinoza joined Wigan from MLS outfit Kansas City Wizards and Fulham signed young striker Chris David from FC Twente.

Championship side Ipswich Town were busy, sealing loan deals that will see strikers Aaron McLean (of Hull City) and David McGoldrick (of Nottingham Forest) stay at Portman Road until the end of the current campaign.

In Germany, giants Bayern Munich announced that they have agreed a deal to sign Mainz defender Jan Kirchhoff once the season ends.