The striker is available for £7.5m in next month’s transfer window because of a release clause in his contract.
Ba could well leave if a club activates the clause – and meets his wage demands.
However, should the 27-year-old stay at St James’s Park he will be told to sign a new long-term contract, or he else be sold in the summer.
Pardew is tired of the on-going saga of his contract, which has been an unwanted distraction for the past 12 months.
Pardew believes the Senegal international is happy on the pitch at St James’s Park, but discussions off the field over a new deal have been tortuous, with Ba reportedly looking for a £80,000-a-week wage.
Alan Pardew: “I think this is the last window that this will roll on.
“In the summer, I will cut our losses with Demba. We’ll enforce a move if he doesn’t commit to the club. Or we will get a replacement.
“I don’t think it’s healthy.
“At the time, the contract made sense for everybody, but now it doesn’t make sense.
“Therefore, I think it will be resolved in this window.
“I don’t see in him any desire to go – regardless of all the media.
“But with our fans here, I think he’ll find it difficult to find a better home to be honest.
“We gave him the opportunity, and he’s scored goals here. I think he enjoys it here, and I want him to stay.
“But it’s out of my hands – there’s nothing I can do about it at this stage. The ball is completely in Demba’s court.”