Chelsea have completed the signing of striker Demba Ba from Newcastle United on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Ba had been heavily linked with the Stamford Bridge outfit since reports surfaced that they had triggered a £7m minimum release clause in the striker's contract.

The 27-year-old sat out of Newcastle's 2-1 defeat to Everton on Wednesday ahead of the move, and manager Alan Pardew confirmed before the match that a deal was close to being done.

Pardew was keen to keep the striker, who has scored 13 of his side's 27 goals in the league so far this season, but Ba was reportedly unhappy with the team's league position and couldn't turn down the prospect of playing for the champions of Europe.

"It feels good to be here, I'm very happy and very proud," Ba said upon joining Chelsea.

"It was important for me, and for Newcastle, to get my future sorted and now we can move on. Now they have the whole month to buy someone and for me as well, the sooner the better. Now I am here I just need to get settled in.

"When the club who won the Champions League wants you, the decision is very easy. This club is massive and that's something that helped the decision a lot. It was not a hard one."

Ba joined Newcastle at the start of last season, scoring 29 goals in 58 games for the club during that time.