Thomas Tuchel has set his Chelsea players a grand challenge ahead of the new Premier League season.
The Blues are in competitive action as soon as tomorrow as they prepare to take on Europa League winners Villarreal in the Super Cup in Belfast.
But attention will soon turn to the Premier League after their duties are concluded in Northern Ireland, and they are set to be bolstered by £97.5million new signing Romelu Lukaku, who is rejoining the club from Inter Milan.
Chelsea spent more than £250million on new signings last summer, and they are not holding back ahead of this term, either, reports also claiming Sevilla’s Jules Kounde could be added to the capture of Lukaku.
But such spending comes with pressure, and Blues boss Tuchel has made no bones about the fact his team will need to challenge for a title this season.
He said, as cited by the Metro: “We [must] try to be there [at the top].
“Why? Because we proved over half of a year that we are capable of doing this and this will be the exact approach.
“Can we predict what the others do? No but City showed what it was to be champions. Liverpool showed what it was to be champions. You need consistency of the highest level in the most difficult league in the world and this is the benchmark.
“We are here to close the gap not only for half a year but for the whole year.”
Chelsea kick off their Premier League season against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.