Demba Ba was close to a surprise Premier League return this month

Former West Ham United, Newcastle United and Chelsea striker Demba Ba was the subject of an unlikely Premier League bid this month.

The striker, who is currently playing in the Chinese Super League with Shanghai Shenhua, is close to returning from a horrific broken leg suffered last year. And West Ham co-owner David Sullivan confirmed the London club made inquiries to bring the Senegal striker back to the club, only to learn he was not on course to return to action for another few weeks. "We looked to bring Demba Ba back in this window but were told he was 3 weeks from playing after recovering from his injury," Sullivan told Talksport. https://twitter.com/oliver_todd/status/826358330700468224 The striker was not without his injury problems the first time he signed for the club, back in 2011. Ba reportedly failed a medical at Stoke City before joining the Hammers from Hoffenheim, and went on to find the net against Stoke later that campaign. The Senegal international was West Ham's top scorer in the 2010/11 season despite playing just 12 league games for the club, but was unable to stop them finishing bottom of the Premier League. He joined Newcastle that summer, scoring 29 goals in 54 league games for the Magpies, before spells at Chelsea and Beşiktaş. Ba scored 17 goals in 21 games last season before his injury, but the big-money arrival of Carlos Tevez may see his opportunities limited in the 2017 season.