Andre Schurrle: Pressure Already on Chelsea to Win Premier League

Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle admits the club are under pressure to win the Premier League title after finishing last season without a trophy.

The Blues have enjoyed a perfect start to their season having claimed three wins from three and are widely considered as the favourites for the title after an excellent summer transfer window.

In addition to Didier Drogba's return to the club, Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis and Loic Remy have been enlisted by Jose Mourinho to address the shortcomings that saw his side finish four points behind champions Manchester City.

And, given the new faces at Stamford Bridge, Schurrle believes the club will be expected to secure silverware this term, while also identifying City as their closest rivals.

"We were already made aware in pre-season that the club is under pressure, that we have to win something. At Chelsea, everyone is used to winning a title every year. And we also added a lot of quality this summer," Schurrle told German magazine Kicker, as reported by ESPN.

"We have a huge squad now: 20 players, who all want to play. If we manage to become one team now, we can achieve something. The Premier League stands above all, especially for the fans.

"After four years without that title, everyone is longing for it. I think that Manchester City are our main rivals. Arsenal made good reinforcements. And at Manchester United, you need to wait and see how long it takes Louis van Gaal to complete the transition. I also have Liverpool in my books."

Chelsea's squad has been bolstered by three players who appeared in last season's Champions League final in Costa, Luis and Thibaut Courtois, who has returned from Atletico Madrid to take Petr Cech's spot as the Blues' number one goalkeeper.

The group-stage draw for the competition saw the club receive a rather favourable draw alongside Schalke, Sporting Lisbon and NK Maribor, and Schurrle expects Chelsea to escape with little problem.

"It is mandatory to make it out of the group," he said. "There is no alternative to it. We want to win the group. I am especially looking forward to the games against Schalke and to playing in Germany again."