TURKISH club Galatasaray were last night said to be weighing up a move for Newcastle United striker Demba Ba during the January transfer window.

Well-informed reports in Turkey suggested the big-spending club, who currently top their country's Super League, want the 27-year-old goalscorer whose days on Tyneside do appear to be numbered.

The Journal yesterday spoke to a number of sources close to Galatasaray who revealed that the club's ambitious president, Ünal Aysal, is prepared to spend serious money during next month’s transfer window.

And Ba’s name is on a rather illustrious list of would-be signings.

Aysal, whose personal fortune is believed to be around £500m, wants to make Turkey's biggest club a major player in European Football over the next few years and is willing to bankroll the ambitious project.

Last week he admitted that Real Madrid’s Brazilian star Kaka was in his sights, which, if true, indicates he is prepared to meet the wage demands from any target.

Inter Milan midfielder Wesley Sneijder has also been linked with a move to Istanbul.

Galatasaray were one of several clubs who thought about moving for Ba during the summer, but were put off according to reports in Turkey by the Senegalese striker’s wage demands, even if his notorious £7.5m release clause was an attraction.