Carlo Ancelotti officially started work on Wednesday following his appointment as permanent successor after Guus Hiddink's successful caretaker reign at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are closing in on their first major signing of the Ancelotti era with a reported £18m deal for the versatile Yuri Zhirkov from CSKA Moscow.

big target

German midfielder Ballack, 32, believes the group's sights are already on ending 2010 as champions of both England and Europe.

"We have to focus on this again, that is for sure. We are hungry to win the title back," Ballack said. "There is also a big target in Europe again, because that is what we want to do as well.

"Chelsea are a big team with a lot of international players, and they want to win the Champions League."