Tony Pulis insists he has no regrets at having passed on a deal for Demba Ba, only to see him prove his Premier League pedigree at rival clubs.
Potters boss does not rue decision to back out of striker deal
Tony Pulis insists he has no regrets at having passed on a deal for Demba Ba, only to see him prove his Premier League pedigree at rival clubs.
Stoke came close to clinching a deal for the Senegal international in January 2011, but backed out of an agreement after seeing the striker fail a medical.
He subsequently completed a switch to West Ham and netted seven times in 12 appearances to offer the Hammers hope in their ultimately unsuccessful survival bid.
A move to Newcastle followed last summer and his reputation has been further enhanced by a 16-goal return that has included a hat-trick against Stoke in October.
The goals have dried up of late for the 26-year-old, but he is still considered to be among the best pieces of transfer business carried out this season.
Newcastle boss Alan Pardew thought he was worth the risk, along with his countryman Papiss Cisse, but Pulis is not kicking himself at having seen a potential source of goals slip through his grasp.
Problem
Asked if he had any regrets at missing out on Ba's signature, he said: "No, not at all.
"We have a medical team here who made a decision and they are fantastic - you only have to see the number of times we get various people on the pitch and what we get out of our players.
"They don't need any backing up. They thought there was a problem there - fine, we'll get on with it."
Pulis, ahead of Stoke's trip to Tyneside on Saturday, added: "Both of them (Ba and Cisse, who has 10 goals in nine games for Newcastle) have done brilliantly, and good luck to them.
"I don't wish them any harm at all - except for when we play against them!"
