Mirror: Raising the Ba

Demba Ba will hit ­Arsenal and Liverpool with £90,000-a-week wage demands in January.

Striker Ba has told Newcastle he will not sign another contract for anything less and is willing to risk ruining a switch to the Emirates or Anfield by making the same demands if his £7million release clause is met.

Russian league club Anzhi Makhachkala would happily pay Ba more than £90,000-a-week, but Arsenal and Liverpool may be loathed to commit to such big wages for the 27-year-old.

Arsenal have so far refused to offer Theo Walcott more than £80,000-a-week and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is closing in on Chelsea striker Daniel Sturridge.

Newcastle tried to tempt Ba into signing a new contract with the club and agree to remove his £7m release clause with a £70,000-a-week offer that was quickly rejected.

Ba's demands mean that interested clubs must be prepared to commit to a deal that would cost around £21m in wages and the transfer fee to sign the Senegal international for three years.

Source: Daily Mirror