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Demba Ba was close to joining the Potters in 2011 but failed a medical, then still went on to be a hit in English football

Senegalese striker Demba Ba is best remembered for his time in the Premier League with West Ham United, Newcastle United and Chelsea, but he could have had a very different career path if not for a mistake made by Stoke City back in 2011.

The 2010/11 season was a historic one for Stoke for many reasons, and Ba was set to be at the club playing his part after being identified by the Potters' scouts in the January window as a player that would fit boss Tony Pulis' attritional and effacious style of play.

The then-25-year-old had been impressing in Germany with Hoffenheim, and Stoke had agreed a deal worth upwards of £8m with the Bundesliga club midway through the window, ahead of a medical at the club's training ground, but the plug was soon pulled on the transfer altogether after he failed said medical.

Ba instead returned to Germany, only to get his move to the Premier League later on in the month, as West Ham signed him on a three-year pay-as-you-play deal as they looked to avoid relegation.

The rest is history, as the Senegalese hitman went on to score consistently in the top-flight and European competitions with the Hammers, Newcastle and Chelsea before his four-year spell in English football came to an end in 2014.

He came back to haunt Stoke on more than one occasion after his failed move, and Potters fans were left wondering about what could have been with him leading their attack.

Ba was one that got away from Stoke

Ba was mightily close to being a Stoke player in January 2011, with the move done regarding personal terms, and just the medical left to complete as he closed in on his coveted move to the Premier League with Potters boss Tony Pulis keen to bolster a frontline that consisted of the likes of Jon Walters, Kenwyne Jones and Ricardo Fuller.

Said medical highlighted some issues with his knee though, and so the move did not go ahead despite him being pictured in a club tracksuit at their Clayton Wood training ground, with Pulis declaring that he was "desperately disappointed" to not see the deal go through after being impressed by scouts' reports.

Ba was still determined to make his move to England, with ties now all but severed with Hoffenheim, and so was sold to West Ham later in the same window as the Irons took a chance on his knee issue by offering him a pay-as-you-play contract, after he had previously been linked to them prior to his Stoke saga.

The Senegal international wasted little time becoming one of the Premier League's most in-form strikers, with a brace on his first start for the club against West Brom, then two more goals in as many games, including one against Stoke, as he came back to haunt Pulis in a 3-0 win for his new side.

Ba bagged seven goals in 12 league appearances in his half-season spell at Upton Park, but could not save the Irons from being relegated to the Championship, and his stay proved to be a short one as he turned down a big new contract offer to join Newcastle that summer on a three-year deal.

He continued his impressive form at St James' Park, with 16 goals and four assists in his first season at the club as Alan Pardew's side finished fifth in the top-flight, with his crowning moment coming in October as he netted a hat-trick on his first visit to the Britannia Stadium, once again making the medical snub backfire on the Potters.

2012/13 saw him bag double figures once again for the Magpies, with 13 strikes in 20 league games earning him a move to Chelsea in the January 2013 transfer window, so his rapid rise had seen him make the move to one of England's biggest and best clubs just two years after his failed move to Stoke.

Ba was not as prolific in his two seasons with the Blues, as he struggled for game-time over the likes of Fernando Torres and Samuel Eto'o, but still netted some important goals and finished his spell at Stamford Bridge with 14 goals in 51 games.

His time in English football came to an end in 2014 with a move to Besiktas, and his record in the top-flight is a clear sign that Stoke made a mistake in not taking a chance on him at that time.

Tony Pulis stood by the decision to stop Ba move

In hindsight, the decision not to sign Ba was a mistake by Stoke, as the apparent injury issue that he had did not stop him from becoming one of the deadliest marksmen in the top-flight for the two years that followed.

He hit double figures in Premier League goals in consecutive seasons for Newcastle, a record that not one Stoke player achieved during the club's ten years in the top-flight, and he may have even changed the Potters' trajectory in huge games that followed not long after, such as their slim FA Cup final loss to Manchester City in May 2011, or their round of 32 Europa League exit to Valencia in February 2012.

Despite his talents becoming apparent after his move to West Ham, Tony Pulis stuck by the club's decision to stop the move in a 2012 interview.

He said: "We have a medical team who made a decision and our medical team are fantastic.

“The difference with Demba was we would have had to pay £8m to £10m for him (and West Ham and Newcastle paid nowhere near as much).

“When you're paying that out, and his wages too, then the situation with his injuries had to be taken into consideration.

“It was a chance the club didn't want to take and they got my backing. But he's done brilliantly, you've got to say that, and good luck to him. I've nothing against him."

Ba himself stayed quiet on the move over the years that followed, instead seemingly preferring to focus on his career, but told The Chronicle in 2021 that he was pleased the Stoke deal didn't go through because he didn't actually want to play under Pulis, who he felt had disrespected him at that time.

"He did something he should never have done. It was completely irresponsible from his side."