Inter line up Lamps

OUT WITH THE OLD ... Lamps is set for exit but Ba is checking in

CHELSEA are set to unveil £7.5million striker Demba Ba as Inter Milan line up a swoop for Frank Lampard.

Senegalese star Ba has agreed a bumper £75,000-a-week contract.

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew said: “It’s done, he will go to Chelsea with our blessing.”

Blues legend Lamps has been told he can leave. And Italian giants Inter have targeted the England star, 34, as an ideal replacement for the departing Wesley Sneijder.

The £18m-rated Dutch ace has been linked with Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool since falling out of favour at Inter.

Ba, 27, travelled to London last night after being given permission to talk to Chelsea’s representatives.

Blues hope to get the deal done in time for Saturday’s FA Cup third-round trip to Southampton.

Toon chief Pardew said: “Demba has done fantastically for us, it’s a big club, good luck to him.

“For us, it’s not a bad thing. All the uncertainty of whether he was going to stay is now done.

“We can move on. This club is bigger than any player for sure.”

The only stumbling block to the move is concerns about the player’s fitness.

Ba failed a medical at Stoke two years ago and has a chronic problem with his right knee. But he has not missed a single training session at Newcastle.

Ba moved to Tyneside on a free after West Ham were relegated from the Premier League in 2011.

He was paid a basic £20,000 a week plus £25,000 for every game he played because of worries about his fitness.

Chelsea are not believed to be after a similar deal for a striker who had a £7.5m release clause in his contract and will pocket £2.5m of that as a loyalty bonus.