Top 10 free transfers of the decade

Tottenham Hotspur v Bayern Muenchen: Group B - UEFA Champions League
Tottenham Hotspur v Bayern Muenchen: Group B - UEFA Champions League

8. Demba Ba: West Ham United to Newcastle United

Southampton v Newcastle United - Premier League
Southampton v Newcastle United - Premier League

Newcastle United signed Demba Ba from West Ham United after the Hammers' relegation to the Championship in 2011. Ba was signed as a replacement for Andy Caroll, who had been sold to Liverpool. The Senegalese striker's spell at Newcastle was brief but brilliant, as he went on to score 29 goals in 45 appearances for the Magpies.

Newcastle were going through a bad phase when Ba joined them, but he helped them to a fifth placed finish in the Premier League in his first season at the club. Ba rescued Newcastle a lot of times through his brilliance and formed a deadly strike partnership with Pappis Cisse during his stay at Newcastle.

His performances were so good that he started attracting the interest of bigger clubs in the league, before finally completing a transfer to Chelsea in January 2013.

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Edited by Vishal Subramanian
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