Newcastle United striker Demba Ba has said that he is not looking to leave the north-east club at this moment and has laughed off any rumours suggesting that he might move soon.

Demba Ba arrived on a free transfer from West Ham United in the summer, and he has been one of the best signings of the summer.

Newcastle United have agreed to a £ 20 million shirt sponsorship deal with Virgin Money for a period believed to be around two years, after a breakthrough in the contract negotiations between the two parties.

Newcastle and Virgin had been locked in contract talks for weeks before the owner of Virgin Sir Richard Branson agreed to bail out cash-stricken Newcastle based bank Northern Rock and buy all the shares.

Newcastle United will be making the difficult trip to Anfield on the final weekend of 2011 in the Barclays Premier League. Even though a visit to Liverpool is always very tough, Newcastle United will have reasons to worry because they have just one victory in five matches.

The win over Bolton on Boxing Day was their first to stop the rot, which began with the defeat against Chelsea a few weeks ago. A number of injuries in a defensive department did not help things for Alan Pardew, but he seems to have stabilised things at Tyneside.

Alan Pardew has said that the fans of Newcastle United deserve a special price for standing by the club at through thick and thin. Many expected that Newcastle United will not be able to return straight back into the Premier League after their relegation to the championship a few seasons ago.

Newcastle striker Demba Ba believes his current side have a lot in common with the Hoffenheim team which shook up the Bundesliga in the 2008-09 season.

The German club were newly promoted but led the league at the halfway point of the season before cementing a seventh place finish, which was still beyond their expectations.

Ba's personal contribution was 14 goals in 35 games and although Newcastle's precise circumstances are not identical to those of Hoffenheim, he believes that there are a lot of common factors.

Even though Newcastle United were going into a tough run of fixtures – which included the teams like Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea - Newcastle have been able to maintain their strong run of form, and keep their position in the top four.

Newcastle United striker scored a hatrick against Stoke City, but believes that there is much more to come from him.

A penalty in the 81st minute completed Demba's hatrick, and won all three points for the Magpies, which helped them up to 3rd in the Premier League table. After 10 matches they are one of just two unbeaten teams in the league, and are on course to win a place in Europe next season.

Newcastle have signed midfielder Sylvain Marveaux from French club Rennes in a major coup for the north-east club. The 25-year-old left-sided player had also been linked with Liverpool but will complete a move to St James' Park for an undisclosed fee on 1 July.

Magpies manager Alan Pardew said: "It's a coup to have signed Sylvain, who has had interest from a number of clubs.

"He may not be well known to many of our fans, but he is a player we have been keeping an eye on for some time."

Joey Barton looks set to depart the Magpies at the end of the season, according to the Free Bets website. The 28-year-old, who has a year to run on his present contract, was unable to agree terms on a new deal.

Magpies boss Alan Pardew has been quoted as wanting to retain Barton, who joined Newcastle from Manchester City in July 2007 for £5.8m.

Huyton-born Barton has scored eight goals in 82 appearances at Newcastle.

Hatem Ben Arfa's return from injury will be delayed after a new set-back according to Newcastle manager Alan Pardew.

The 23-year-old had hoped to make his comeback from a double leg-break against Wolves next month.

But Pardew admits the forward, who sustained the injury against Manchester City following a horror tackle from midfielder Nigel De Jong, will not be rushed back too soon and may miss out the rest of the campaign.