So much demand; we're going to need more Demba Bas!

One year and two days ago, the Senegalese striker made his Chelsea debut, scoring twice in the FA Cup against Southampton in one of the best Chelsea debuts ever.  You could easily argue that it's been all downhill ever since, even though his next goal (should he get it) will be his tenth in Chelsea's colors.  He's clearly fallen to the bottom of the pecking order amongst the three Chelsea first-team strikers - which is quite an accomplishment considering the level of competition.  He does have fourteen appearances to his name this season, but only three starts and only once did he complete the full 90 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, the rumor mill is working overtime to find a new home for the 28-year-old, be that just on loan or on a permanent basis.  (Or maybe they're just playing bingo?)  Having practiced some of these stories in the summer transfer window already, the tabloids have become quite efficient at linking Ba with just about every team possible.  There are rumors of prodigal returns to Newcastle or West Ham United.  A missed connection (courtesy of Craigslist London) with tracksuit aficionado Tony Pulis (now at Crystal Palace) might tug at his heartstrings, while the Arsenal rumors have spun into overdrive following Theo Walcott's catastrophically timed ACL injury.  If only we had more Demba Bas, we could satisfy them all!

In all seriousness however, it's tough to see too much of a future at the moment for Ba at Chelsea.  He has failed to convince Mourinho that he could provide something better than Torres or Eto'o; barring injury, there are no signs of that situation changing.  Eto'o will most likely call it done after this season, but then we should be coming up on the Age of Lukaku finally, which would push Ba back down to third-choice once again.  His contract says that he'll be here until 2016, but unless he's super keen on warming the bench, he'll be long gone before then.

All that said, there's hardly an advantage gained from selling right now and loaning would only make sense if he's actively disgruntled (and we've heard no such rumors).  No need to rush then; we can sort all this out in the summer.