Chelsea Transfer Rumours: Club Should Not Give Up on Demba Ba Too Soon

Demba Ba has become a forgotten man at Chelsea, and it is not surprising that he could be on his way out of town. However, it would be a mistake for the squad to completely give up on the forward.

Charles Perrin of The Express reports that Italian club Roma are interested in acquiring Ba, while Chelsea have not given any indication that he will stay. He also has received interest from West Ham, according to Darren Lewis of the Mirror.

Depth at striker is not exactly an issue for Chelsea with Fernando Torres, Romelu Lukaku and Ba all capable of playing the position. Andre Schurrle can also play on the attack if needed. This left Ba as an unused substitute in the squad's opening match against Hull City.

Logic would say this would make him expendable, and selling him would be a great way to clear up funds without losing a key player. The problem is that he still can be an impact player himself.

Manager Jose Mourinho recently stated that he is still interested in adding a new player at the position, via Sky Sports:

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We will try till the last day to add a new player to the squad, a striker, but in this moment every striker has a club, every striker belongs to somebody and I don't think it's ethical that I name players that belong to other clubs.

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There is clearly hesitation about his ability to bring in another quality striker. This shows that he might be better off giving someone already on the roster another chance to prove himself.

Ba came over during the January transfer window after an excellent season and a half at Newcastle United. He scored 16 goals during the 2011-12 season, and already had 13 goals in 19 starts before making the transfer.

Admittedly, the Senegalese player struggled in the remaining months in Premier League play, scoring only two goals in 14 appearances (11 starts). However, he showed plenty of skill during that time to get open looks. He simply could not finish around the net.

In other competitions, Ba performed much better. He scored four goals in five FA Cup starts, for instance, but did not get a chance to show off his ability in the Europa League.

Even with his struggles in the second half of the year, the forward still finished seventh in the EPL in goals scored. The talent is there to succeed and he should be given another chance prove his ability this season.

The good news is that he welcomes competition. According to Jeremy Wilson of The Telegraph, he responded positively when asked what would happen if Chelsea brought in Wayne Rooney:

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I will stay. I think we need competition and we welcome the best players in this club.

More competition is going to make me better anyway. All players want to play, not only centre forwards. We will all work in the same direction, for the club, to try and win the games.

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Obviously, the club wants to prepare for the future with Lukaku, but Ba should be given every opportunity to succeed. 

A few months at the end of a year is not enough to truly judge a player. After an entire summer to train with the club, Ba should be much better this season as he tries to find a role on the first team.

Before selling him, Chelsea should give him another chance to see what he can do.

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