Could Liverpool be the ideal place for Demba Ba to rediscover form?

Arsenal came extremely close to signing Chelsea’s Demba Ba in a loan-deal on deadline day, however, Jose Mourinho didn’t allow the deal to go through. But the situation may have changed, The Express report that Chelsea’s interest in Burak Yilmaz could tempt Mourinho to cash-in on Ba. Furthermore, last summer, Liverpool were in the market for a forward, as they missed out on the likes of Diego Costa. But if Ba were to be available for a transfer, should Liverpool consider him too?

The question over Ba remains simple, would it be worth it for either team to try and sign Ba in January considering he has just two league goals to his name in 2013? But you only have to go back 2012 to remember Ba’s prolific form, where he managed 13 goals in just 19 games for Newcastle.

He attracted plenty of interest last January, but it was Chelsea who stumped up the £7million release clause to sign the Senegalese international. If he were to join Arsenal or Liverpool they would be the fourth English club in as many years for Ba, following spells with West Ham, Newcastle and Chelsea. Ba has netted on 42 occasions in England since his move to West Ham in 2011, but how does he measure up against Arsenal and Liverpool’s current strikers?

Both Giroud and Sturridge have performed much better than Ba this season. But when the former Newcastle forward was in favour, last season, how did they compare?

He scored more league goals than both Sturridge and Giroud (15). However, Sturridge played a lot less games and it was Giroud’s first season in England.

Giroud was the strongest of the trio in terms of duels won, winning 130 headers last season. Apart from adding an obvious goalscoring threat, Ba is unlikely to take either Sturridge or Giroud’s place in the starting eleven, but instead provide quality from the bench. Both Giroud and Sturridge are the main strikers at their clubs, and despite Ba not being as prolific this season, the 28-year-old would certainly add quality to either side, especially if he can re-discover his Newcastle form.

Ba has yet to cement a place in Chelsea’s starting eleven since his move from Newcastle in January, and now frequently finds himself behind Samuel Eto’o and Fernando Torres in the pecking order. While on-loan striker Romelu Lukaku looks likely to return next season and also move ahead of Ba in Mourinho’s preferences.

Ba may have to join a team like Liverpool or Arsenal in order to get more game time, but given the form of their strikers, he could be on the bench for those two clubs too.

Football graphics and stats from Squawka.