Sullivan reveals Ba exit clause

David Sullivan believes Demba Ba is likely to exit Newcastle this summer, with a clause in his contract set to leave the Magpies short.

Hammers co-owner lifts the lid on Magpies striker's contract

West Ham co-owner David Sullivan believes Demba Ba is likely to exit Newcastle this summer, with a clause in his contract set to leave the Magpies short. The Hammers sold the Senegalese striker to Newcastle last summer, with relegation out of the Premier League forcing their hand. Ba has been a revelation on Tyneside, with his goals largely responsible for the Magpies' ongoing bid to secure a top-four finish. His efforts have been welcomed by the St James' Park faithful, making him a firm fans' favourite, but his exploits have not gone unnoticed elsewhere. Speculation regarding his future and an apparent release clause in his contract first surfaced ahead of the January transfer window, and is expected to return to the fore.

Get-out clause

Sullivan has now revealed that were a move to be pushed through, Newcastle would only pocket half of any fee involved. The rest of the cash will go to Ba, meaning the Magpies could be left with just £3.5million were a rival club to match his £7m release fee. "They keep denying it, but I think you'll see in the summer he will leave Newcastle or he'll get a monstrous rise to stay there," said Sullivan. "I'm told he's got a £7m get-out clause and he gets half the money of that. "If they get about £4m, half will go to him. So if they sell him for £7m, they'll only get about three because they paid his agent £2m to get him out of here."