Demba Ba possibly joining Chelsea

Due to the departure of Daniel Sturridge to Liverpool, Chelsea currently only have one striker, that being Fernando Torres, so the blues need a new one. Now, it looks like the new man will be Demba Ba from Newcastle for £7 million.

So what does this mean for Chelsea? Well, at 27, Ba is a fair bit older than other recent Chelsea signings who are closer to 19 than 27, so this is very much a "hear and now" signing. The deal, to me, strongly resembles the £15 million deal which brought journeyman striker Nicholas Anelka to Chelsea from Bolton in January 2008. Proven centre forward moving to Chelsea at a time when the London club are chasing the title and suffering from a shortage of strikers. Although Ba and Anelka are different players, Anelka did just fine at Chelsea and didn't take much time in settling in.

Ba has had a tremendous season so far, having scored an impressive 13 goals in all competitions. He proved just how talented and well-rounded he is on Saturday with two goals against Arsenal (one of which may be given as an own goal by Jack Wilshere). The Senegalese striker is always a threat, being able to score with his head as well as with his feet. He is often on the end of long distance passes and crosses, so he is always a menace for opposition defences. Ba will receive plenty of the ball from the likes of Oscar, Hazard, Moses and Mata, probably more than what he received from Simpson, Obertan, Cabaye and Ben Arfa at Newcastle. His almost two years of premier league experience (the first six months of which were spent with West Ham before they got relegated) will mean Ba shouldn't face any "settling in" issues. To be honest, I see no real reason why Ba shouldn't score goals in the blue of Chelsea.

So does the sale of Daniel Sturridge for £12 million and the signing of Demba Ba for £7 million result in a "good bit of business" for Chelsea? Personally, I think Chelsea were wrong to sell Sturridge as he provides another option, and gets many chances, despite not taking them regularly enough. However, I believe Ba is more reliable and trustworthy in front of goal, despite not having the longevity that Sturridge has who is 23, four years younger than Ba. But, a profit of £5 million means I think Chelsea have done right. For what it's worth, I still think Chelsea need a striker, even on loan, as I think Lukaku should finish his loan spell at West Brom.

To conclude, I am feeling very confident about how well Ba can do for Chelsea. As I mentioned previously, there is no real reason to doubt Ba's potential to score vast numbers of goals. As well as goals, he will provide industry, great movement and another option away from the highly unpredictable and sometimes frustrating Fernando Torres. It’s a thumbs up for this deal from me. 

WORLD FOOTBALL'S TOP 5 STRIKERS

The number “nine” is arguably the most famous and iconic number in football. The “fox in the box”, the goal scorer who gets on the end of things and in many cases, the key player in a team.

So with Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Andres Iniesta being often debated as “the best” players in the world, who is the world’s best centre forward?

5. Sergio Agüero

When news broke of Manchester City signing Atletico Madrid striker Sergio Agüero for a huge £38 million, many proclaimed that he would struggle and take a while to settle in, if ever. But two goals on his debut against Swansea, 30 goals in the 2011/12 season as whole, and a Premier League title winning goal later, Agüero is considered as one of Europe’s greatest and most feared strikers.

He is extremely difficult to track and play against, meaning he can never be ignored. Even in Manchester City’s poor champions league campaign this season, Agüero has caused problems.

He’s already somewhat of a legend amongst some City fans and he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

4. Robert Lewandowski

After a few good years, the last two have proven to be “breakout” years for Robert Lewandowski. With Borussia Dortmund winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11 and then in 2011/12, fans all over the world have realised just how good Robert Lewandowski is.

A huge 30 goals in all competitions led to many suspecting that the 24 year old Pole would be leaving Dortmund eventually, especially considering the fact he’s already scored 14 goals in 23 games so far this season.

However, Dortmund are one of the most heavily supported clubs in Europe so they won’t give him up easily.

3. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

At the age of 31, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has arguably been better than ever in 2012. Switching from AC Milan to PSG in the summer transfer window made some believe Zlatan was slowly but surely beginning to step away from Europe’s top leagues, and that next year he’d be going to the USA or China.

But Zlatan, who won the goal of the tournament at Euro 2012 after a stunning effort against France for Sweden, has been prolific in France, forming a formidable PSG attack with Jeremy Menez, Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Some even claimed his spectacular goal against England in a friendly in November was the best goal ever scored, that’s something we’ll have to see about, but one things for sure, no one can question Zlatan’s “world class” tag after this year.

2. Robin Van Persie

Last season while with Arsenal, Robin Van Persie scored a magnificent 30 goals in the Premier League, helping the gunners to a third place spot which seemed unlikely after a catastrophic start.

Despite the Dutchman struggling at Euro 2012, Manchester United were willing to pay out £24 million in August, a decision that has worked out brilliantly so far. Van Persie has continued where he led off at Utd, having scored 15 goals in 21 games for the Red Devils so far.

Possessing arguably the most technically clinical and accurate left foot in the world, and able to score from anywhere, Van Persie is quite possibly the deadliest striker on the planet.

1. Radamel Falcao

In the past 12 months, Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao has taken himself from being a highly rated and dangerous striker, to the most feared (at least in my opinion) on the entire planet. The Colombian Falcao is the sort of player that can single-handedly destroy any defence in the world, as proven by his exploits against Chelsea in the UEFA super cup back in August.

Falcao’s goals in the 2012/13 season have pushed Atletico Madrid into the giddy heights of La Liga’s top three, alongside traditional heavyweights rivals Real Madrid and current leaders Barcelona.

Many are predicting that Falcao will soon be joining Chelsea, Manchester City or even Real Madrid, and it’s easy to see why as when at his best, Falcao is truly unstoppable.

Frank Lampard: Is his time at Chelsea coming to an end?

English football has seen few players as talented and effective as Frank Lampard. Since joining Chelsea in 2001, Lampard has slowly become somewhat of an institution at Chelsea. However, this season rumours surrounding Lampard’s future have been more rampant than ever with many expecting Lampard to leave the blues soon. So is it time for Lampard to move on or does he have a few more years left?

Unquestionably, Lampard has been a huge factor in Chelsea’s success over the last eleven years, with the central midfielder joining the club while it was on the up, but nowhere near the dizzy heights that they have reached in the past few years. Lampard cost Chelsea £11 million to sign from West Ham, and it seems incredible to think now, but at the time many were unsure about whether Lampard was worth the fee. However, after it initially took him a while to settle in, Lampard began to prove he was worth every penny.

The arrival of Roman Abramovich in 2003 could have potentially left Lampard in turmoil with the likes of Juan Sebastian Veron, Geremi, Joe Cole, Claude Makelele and Scott Parker all threatening to take Lampard’s place. Instead, Lampard began to massively improve, especially from a goalscoring perspective. The 2003/04 season was the first of nine seasons (and counting) where Lampard’s goal tally finished in double figures. Without doubt, Lampard was one of Chelsea’s key players in their back to back league title wins of 2005 and 2006. His excellence for Chelsea was honoured with Lampard only losing out to Ronaldinho in the 2005 Ballon D’Or.

The following seasons have seen yet more success for the Chelsea and England man, with Lampard continuing to be an integral part of Chelsea’s team. With Lampard approaching one decade as a Chelsea player many began referring to Lampard, Petr Cech, John Terry and Didier Drogba as the ‘’backbone’’ of Chelsea’s squad despite various managers arriving and then leaving. Lampard has been an ideal servant for any club showing loyalty, quality and consistency. He achieved legend status at Stamford Bridge many years ago.

So with Lampard getting injured more and more regularly and with the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard, Victor Moses and Juan Mata constantly improving, is it time for Lampard to move on? To be honest, he has had better days, but I think that Lampard should stay at Chelsea for a short while longer at least, and maybe try to adapt his way of playing to prolong his career at the top level, much like Francesco Totti and Ryan Giggs have. The younger players at Chelsea could and should look at Lampard for guidance and inspiration, something a lot of them appear to need. Ultimately, the decision goes to Lampard, but I think he deserves some more time at the top level. LA Galaxy may have something to say about that however, especially now that Beckham has gone. 

West Brom's start to the season: can they keep it up?

For years, West Brom were known as the premier league's "boing boing club" with reference to the fact they always seemed to get relegated and then swiftly get promoted. They only managed to end this unwanted track record with a respectable 11th place finish in the 2010-11 season, in a season which started with Roberto Di Matteo in charge, but finished with Roy Hodgson as manager. In Roy Hodgson's one and only full season in charge of the Baggies, the 2011-12 season, his side made a small improvement, finishing 10th.

However, under the guidance of new manager Steve Clarke, West Brom have made vast and highly significant improvements. One of the best elements of West Brom's team last season was their defence. The centre backs Olsson and McCauley meant West Brom were always tough to beat, while Youssouf Mulumbu grafted in midfield. But Clarke has looked at these solid areas, and made advances on them. There is more width, more attacking options and more shape to the West Brom side.

The results speak for themselves in some ways. They have beaten Liverpool, Chelsea, Southampton and Everton to name a few. The win over Liverpool was probably the most impressive of these victories as they demolished the reds 3-0 on the season's opening day. Offensively, they possess many threats, all providing something slightly different. Peter Odemwingie is a typical goal scorer, always on the end of things, Shane Long uses his energy and pace to stretch defences, on loan striker Romelu Lukaku uses his brute strength to outmuscle defenders, and Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg offers yet another goal scoring threat. Just like last season, there is a heavy reliance on the attacking midfielders such as James Morrison, Graham Dorrans and Chris Brunt. In short, based on the evidence of the past five months, Steve Clarke has made West Brom better in most ways, slightly better in some ways, considerably better in others.

So to answer the question in the title, how far can West Brom go?

Well, if they continue with their high fitness levels and tactical shape, they could well do what Newcastle did last season and force a surprise Europa league place. However, in the past two games, cracks have appeared. Teams have begun exposing West Brom spacious defence and as the Baggies have started attacking teams more, therefore meaning West Brom's centre backs have to track back more, and something they are not really used to. However, Steve Clarke has shown plenty of tactical brilliance to give West Brom fans plenty of optimism for the season ahead.