But the club's owners are refusing to give in to the player's demands after talks with the player to commit his future to the club broke down.
And it has emerged (by The Chronicle) the player could STILL quit the Magpies in January with a fresh release clause offering clubs the chance to sign him in the next window.
The Chronicle reported on July 11 that Newcastle had opened talks with Ba in the hope he would sign a new deal which would also eliminate any dangerous loopholes in his contract.
It was widely understood that Ba’s last release clause expired on July 31.
However, another clause will be applicable from January.
There were no takers for the former West Ham striker last summer but United chiefs are keen to iron out any potential problems in the next window.
Alan Pardew: “The situation is ongoing with him and his contract.
“I’ve got no problems with Demba. He’s a key player – trust me.
“He’s a team player and that’s why I signed him.
“He’ll always be like that.
“I have spoke to him and he’s fine.
“Some of the comments said by him are out of his control and out of my control.
“We know each other well enough.”
“We haven’t a big pool of strikers. But we have a quality group.
“We have Demba, Papiss, Shola and Sammy and Haris. That is our group.
“Shola has a chance to stake his claim – he has looked terrific in training.
“We have young Campbell and it is a great opportunity for him to travel in European games and get a piece of it.”