Demba Ba set to join Chelsea

“Officially he (Ba) is not our player. The club are working on it and we can talk about him when it’s official.

“If we can do the business then, hopefully, he can be available for the weekend.”

Newcastle confirmed Chelsea had triggered the striker’s £7m release clause and that he had been left out of Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat to hold talks with Chelsea officials.

The Stamford Bridge club saw off late interest from Arsenal in Ba, who, it is understood, will earn around £70,000 a week at his new club — a significant improvement on his terms in the North East.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew told Sky Sports: ‘It’s done, he’ll go to Chelsea with our blessing.

“For us, it’s not a bad thing because all the uncertainty over whether he was going to stay, it’s now done. We are bigger than any player so in some respects I’m pleased.”

Chelsea’s bid looked in the balance on Sunday after talks between Ba’s representatives and club officials broke down over his wage demands.

Sportsmail understands Ba’s advisors initially rejected Chelsea’s attempts to hold further talks on Monday, saying they wanted to speak with other interested parties.

But, after a significant breakthrough, Chelsea moved quickly on Wednesday.

The Senegal striker, 27, joined Newcastle in 2011 from West Ham and has scored 29 goals in 54 league games for them. But he has been consistently linked with a move away from the club because of the release clause in his contract.

Newcastle have tried several times to persuade the striker to sign a new, improved deal in a bid to get rid of the clause but Ba has always refused.

Benitez had put a new striker at the top of his January shopping list after Liverpool’s £12m capture of Daniel Sturridge, which was confirmed on Wednesday, left Torres as his only recognised striker.

Owner Roman Abramovich remains interested in Atletico Madrid’s Radamel Falcao but it is looking increasingly likely the Russian will have to wait until the summer to land him.

Newcastle will step up their pursuit of Marseille striker Loic Remy after Ba’s departure.

The 26-year-old France striker, who has scored 82 goals in six years in the French league, was identified as Newcastle’s top target even before Ba left.

Newcastle are hoping to see off late interest from QPR and West Ham to land Remy. They have also shown an interest in Ajax’s Holland youth forward Jody Lukoki.