Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley's canny wage structure has been revealed by Demba Ba's move to Chelsea.

The Daily Mail says Ba transfer saga has revealed Newcastle owner Ashley's salary strategy - to keep the basic wages as low as possible but hand out incentives for success.

Ba, who wants £80,000 a week at Chelsea, was on about £40,000 at St James' Park, plus another £20,000 per appearance.

In the same way, manager Alan Pardew is comparatively poorly paid for a top Premier League manager but has big bonuses built in and the security of an eight-year contract with no break clauses.