Demba Ba could still leave Newcastle in January, admits Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew has admitted that the Newcastle striker Demba Ba's £7m buy-out clause will still be active in the January transfer window. The striker is missing from the club's Europa League squad for their meeting with Marítimo, though Pardew has insisted that it is not linked to comments made by Ba's agent, Alex Gontran, on Tuesday which suggested his client might seek a move away if he continues to be played out wide, or left on the bench. Pardew said he held talks with Ba before the squad left for Portugal, and told the BBC that he wants the player to stay at the club. "There is that clause in his contract and it makes us vulnerable. It's still open in the next window. "I have spoken to Demba [about his agent] and told him I was disappointed with some of the comments around him. [But] sometimes it's out of his control and out of my control. "We know each other well enough, and I've got no problems with him, because he is a team player who wants to do his best for the team. He has always been like that. "I just think the agent stuff was people saying things they shouldn't say, really. It doesn't really affect myself and Demba, because we've got a very good relationship."