On 3 July 2013, English Premier League club Chelsea announced that they had reached an agreement with Vitesse for the transfer of van Ginkel. With the fee reported to be in the region of £8 million.
On 5 July, Chelsea confirmed that they had completed the signing of van Ginkel, with the Dutch international midfielder signing a five-year contract with the club. Speaking to the official Chelsea website upon his signing with the club, van Ginkel described himself as "a box-to-box player" who "covers a lot of metres and can score a goal.
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