On Friday 5th July 2013, Chelsea Football Club proudly announced the successful signing of Marco van Ginkel for a reported £8 million deal on a 5-year contract. And it has not taken him long to impress his new set of fans here. The Dutchman - signed from Chelsea’s ‘Dutch Cousin’ Vitesse Arnhem - is an all round midfielder who boats a wide range of abilities and qualities which has caused men with red-black color tablecloth kits up north in Manchester to feel envy of the purchase. His constant appearance and consistent performance for Chelsea in pre-season has led to fans comparing him with Frank Lampard and former Chelsea midfielders Claude Makelele and Michael Ballack. The current Chelsea midfield is not what it used to be in the recent years gone by. The absence of a midfield enforcer or creator in the likes of Ballack, Makelele, Tiago or Deco has seen the Blues struggled in midfield especially when they face quality oppositions and have been found wanting on many occasions. Lampard is useful but has lost that energy, pace and that ‘bite’ with age and Michael Essien has struggled with injuries. This has led to the club linked with several midfielders in the past 2-3 years ranging from the likes of Daniele de Rossi, Luka Modric, Benat to Kondogbia. However, the signing and performances of van Ginkel so far may suggest Chelsea have found a capable replacement. A fluent English speaker before his arrival in London, his versatility allows him to play in numerous positions in midfield. He also has a tendency to make late runs into the opposition penalty box - a common characteristic of Lampard’s game - and possesses the ability to unleash long range screamers from distance. Moreover, being 6’ 11” and having a good physique for a 20-year old, van Ginkel is like a midfield destroyer, not afraid to put challenges in, uses his body strength in many situations during pre-season matches to dispossess players off the ball. The Dutchman has also showed his capabilities in intercepting passes and tracking the runs of opposing players when being on the defensive as well as being able to play incisive passes and through balls to his teammates. He has certainly been very impressive throughout the pre-season and continues to improve culminating in arguably becoming the Blues best player against Real Madrid on Wednesday. All the praise van Ginkel has received - including from Marc Overmars - appears to be justified. The new signing does not seem to have any real weakness and throughout this pre-season, he has played intelligently and perhaps cautiously, though possibly on Mourinho’s order. And not only has he been compared to Chelsea players, British tabloid ‘Daily Mail’ have gone further in comparing his looks with teenage pop sensation, Justin Bieber! Moving from Vitesse Arnhem to one of Europe’s biggest clubs like Chelsea is no doubt a huge step up but van Ginkel has certainly made himself known to the fans and proved that he deserves a proper chance to shine after wanting playing time at Stamford Bridge. Best of luck Marco and rock the world!
