The number has been famous by legends of the past - Jackie Milburn, Len White, Supermac, Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand - but Ba says he wants to make the No 19 shirt just as famous.
Demba Ba: "I am happy with 19 - I like 19 - I don't want the number nine."
Alan Pardew: “He can have number 19 as long as he likes.
“Its perhaps a bit early to put him in the category of great strikers you’ve had here, but he’s made a good start to becoming one of those – the Shearers, the Ferdinands, you know. He’s made a great start.
“We’ve given him a platform. He’s got good players around him and that always helps, not that I’m taking anything away from him.
"The finish [against Man United] was a class finish. He didn’t toe poke it, it was a guided volley.
"You can’t defend that – that’s where he is at the moment. He’s in tremendous form.”
“There is a deficiency in that knee that has been highlighted and we know about. We can manage it, it won’t be a problem.”