Drogba and Anelka could make Premier League return

Former Chelsea duo Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka could face a shock Premier League return, as the pair’s club Shanghai Shenhua face an equity row among stakeholders.

Chairman Zhu Jun, who owns 25.8 per cent of the club, is set to reduce his investment if his demands for a greater share of the side are not met.

He is thought to have ploughed around £60million into Shenhua over the last five and a half years, with an agreement in place that if he invested £15million over two years, his stake would increase to 70 per cent.

But the transfer of shares stalled in both 2009 and 2011, fuelling rumours that Zhu Jun may cut his level of funding.

'It is annoying and has had a bad effect on many of our tasks,' a club official said. 'The biggest problem is that the operation and financing work of the club cannot be carried out normally.

'The equity stakes issue has become the biggest bottleneck for the development of Shenhua.'

Drogba left Chelsea for Chinese side Shenhua following the Blues’ Champions League victory in May, joining former Stamford Bridge team-mate Anelka, who had moved to the club earlier this year.

But the pair could opt to quit the big-spending Chinese Super League outfit, who currently sit 10th in the 16-team league, if their £250,000 a week wages can no longer be met.