Marco van Ginkel

[iceman 329]

Already looking every bit like a winning midfield pair!

our great future

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Already looking every bit like a winning midfield pair!

Our future pivot right there- Bieber and the Beast

[Mustafa 885]

I'd love it if he gets a few minutes on Saturday !!

[Esam 60]

I'd love it if he gets a few minutes on Saturday !!

Me too .. but I think he played a single match since his return from injury .. is that enough habilitation?!

[Mustafa 885]

Me too .. but I think he played a single match since his return from injury .. is that enough habilitation?!

I think he's played twice. Against Villa and against United. He's been training with the team for a whole now so I think he is capable of playing.

It's just a matter of whether Jose wants to have him in the squad. Love this lads attitude tho. SO POSITIVE

[Rekin 835]

While I have never been strictly against signing Kroos or Gundogan, I sometimes wonder whether it isn't a purchase we should leave for the summer of 2015.

I was very impressed with Marco in pre-season and I really thought he would take the step to the starting lineup as the season progressed. While a knee-injury can have very bad consequences he is still young and recovered very fast.

The central midfield is a curious thing though. We might lose Lamps and Mikel which leaves us with Matic and Ramires. That really implies that we will keep Marco and possibly move up a youngster/loan to the first team. Personally I think Baker or Swift might complement Matic but I know it is wishful thinking.
Still, the point is that with players like Gundogan or Moutinho hard to buy this window for different reasons it might be a good idea to not change things around too much just yet.
Chelsea have too much to gain from having a player they already own making the step to the first team, buying should only be an option when it becomes obvious that we need to improve in a position and we lack the right player in our ranks. This can be argued for the striker and left-back position which is why we will most likely end up with Costa & Shaw/Rodriguez/Sandro.
It is not the case in midfield which is why the club needs to be patient and make use of the elite talents it already has.

[haranr 485]

Matic - Van Ginkel

One word to describe it - FANTASTIC.

[Reddish-Blue 2,223]

While I have never been strictly against signing Kroos or Gundogan, I sometimes wonder whether it isn't a purchase we should leave for the summer of 2015.

I was very impressed with Marco in pre-season and I really thought he would take the step to the starting lineup as the season progressed. While a knee-injury can have very bad consequences he is still young and recovered very fast.

The central midfield is a curious thing though. We might lose Lamps and Mikel which leaves us with Matic and Ramires. That really implies that we will keep Marco and possibly move up a youngster/loan to the first team. Personally I think Baker or Swift might complement Matic but I know it is wishful thinking.

Still, the point is that with players like Gundogan or Moutinho hard to buy this window for different reasons it might be a good idea to not change things around too much just yet.

Chelsea have too much to gain from having a player they already own making the step to the first team, buying should only be an option when it becomes obvious that we need to improve in a position and we lack the right player in our ranks. This can be argued for the striker and left-back position which is why we will most likely end up with Costa & Shaw/Rodriguez/Sandro.

It is not the case in midfield which is why the club needs to be patient and make use of the elite talents it already has.

We do lack an elite CM capable of pulling the strings in midfield.....Van Ginkel isn't the answer to our problems.

If Lamps and Mikel both leave...I highly doubt Jose will go into next season with Matic, Ramires, MvG and Chalobah/Baker/insert-name as his only midfield options...

[Esam 60]

I'm sure MVG will be needed next season .. maybe even earn a starting spot after excelling at the pre-season camps .. we don't need big names that cost millions when we already have a big name in the making IMO .. maybe recall a loaned player to replace Mikel and that's it .. I just see more Entertainment in making superstars rather than buying some ready-made ones especially Midfielders .. look at Gooners Wilshere or Ramsey .. Liverfool's Henderson after being polished

[LDN Blue 7,903]

Matic - Van Ginkel

One word to describe it - FANTASTIC.

Seems too passive to be honest.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Seems too passive to be honest.

Seems too defensive to me. And neither really is that great passer you'd want in central midfield. On the bright side, both are very dynamic and fit Jose's pressing system perfectly.

[dee25 1,044]

Seems too defensive to me. And neither really is that great passer you'd want in central midfield. On the bright side, both are very dynamic and fit Jose's pressing system perfectly.

That's very true he doesn't seem to be a great passer of the ball but I'm hoping if we have an offensively minded left back and with Azpi in RB then that might compensate for it?? Ideally you'd want someone like Modric in central midfield but MVG and Matic are both (at the very least) technically sound so I don't think that pairing would limit us in attack. Marco also seems like he has goals in him.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Seems too defensive to me. And neither really is that great passer you'd want in central midfield. On the bright side, both are very dynamic and fit Jose's pressing system perfectly.

van Ginkel isn't a great passer? Are you being serious right now?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

That's very true he doesn't seem to be a great passer of the ball but I'm hoping if we have an offensively minded left back and with Azpi in RB then that might compensate for it?? Ideally you'd want someone like Modric in central midfield but MVG and Matic are both (at the very least) technically sound so I don't think that pairing would limit us in attack. Marco also seems like he has goals in him.

Yeah from what I've seen, Marco has a decent shot on him and a good eye for goal. And I agree, it's not something that limits us because ideally we'd have an offensive system that works and certainly both have the technical ability to move the ball around and fit in any system. That said, it's always nice to have someone in central midfield who can come up with that individual solution at times.

[AndersonBLUE 819]

Not sure if we should play him so soon though.

[yuvala 2,167]

van Ginkel isn't a great passer? Are you being serious right now?

Honestly I dont see him as a "great passer" either.

From what I've seen he's ok at it, not a Pirlo..

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Honestly I dont see him as a "great passer" either.

From what I've seen he's ok at it, not a Pirlo..

He's a very good passer. I don't think he's shown anything so far to suggest he isn't. I have been impressed with his passing range ever since I saw him in the Under-21 Championships in Israel.

He's not Marco Verratti (or Pirlo like you said), but his passing ability is more than good enough for the purpose. We aren't talking about a Ramires. His passing ability is similar to the Ballack's and Lampard's of this world. He also scores goals, is physically strong and has a great engine on him. Very few young CM's in the world can boast of these qualities. He is a box-to-box midfielder and very few players his age can be considered box-to-box. I prefer him to a Verratti type of deep-lying playmaker.

[Barbara 15,149]

At his age and with the glimpses I've seen from him, Marco can become whatever Mourinho wants him to become.

More defensive, more offensive, a B2B, a CM because the boy is quite dynamic and has good vision and his passing isn't bad in the same way Ramires is for example - when you see the player just can't pick a pass and has a weak vision to make matters worse.

Marco's problem seems to be just him being young and therefore erratic and inconsistent. I remember his UCL match for us. He started very nervous, making Ramires-alike mistakes and then the nerves loosened and he starting picking better passes.

He is no Xabi Alonso and he certainly hasn't Pirlo vision, but the boy is 21, so we can't say for sure that's not his profile. He may never be as good as those guys but any assumption about his limitations, flaws and qualities seems a bit rushed and premature imo.

He seems like a boy who has a lot of potential imo. If he can be a partner to Matic or an alternative for Matic it depends on what Mourinho will mold him to be...