The exact amount of the clause is unknown, but it is reportedly as low as £5 million ($7.7 million). If a buying club meets or exceeds that amount, Newcastle must allow Ba to speak with that club.
Liverpool is one of many clubs that is interested in signing the Senegal international. Others include Tottenham, Sunderland, Everton and QPR. Any team that signs Ba for the reported £5-10 million ($7.7 – 15 million) fee would consider it a coup for a player of his caliber.
Ba is currently with his national team preparing for the African Cup of Nations. He has not made any public comments about wanting to leave Newcastle, but a January move would probably earn him a significant pay increase.
Ba has scored 15 goals in 19 league games for Newcastle, putting him second on this season's list of top scorers. He has made a big impact in English soccer, since his move from Germany's Hoffenheim last January.
The 26-year-old scored seven goals in 12 league games for West Ham last season. He left the Hammers on a free transfer after they were relegated in May, and nearly joined Stoke City. A failed physical exam halted that move, but Newcastle shrewdly brought the powerful forward into the fold at the start of the season.
