Youth and Marco van Ginkel

Chelsea’s new transfer policy is something they are taking seriously, and more than the halt of free spending for them and other clubs, we have seen the evolution of the sport happening before our eyes. Chelsea are known for spending big, and acquiring their targets, but the modern day game is a lot more than buying a big name, but instead buying a big talent. For example, Eden Hazard has proved his worth and potential to justify his £32.5m price tag. On the contrary,  £8.5m Kevin De Bruyne has nothing to pay back to the club money-wise, except replicate and better his performances for Werder Bremen from last season.
The new trend, supposedly set by teams like Borussia Dortmund, Ajax among others, is for teams to make a squad look as dynamically youthful as possible. The mindset is for managers to build a team around experienced players, and have more youth on the ratio to older players. Teams like Malaga have shown what a boost having young players gave them, with bursts of pace through the blocks of the new standard 4-2-3-1 formation.
As such, Chelsea have opted to go for youth talent such as Hazard, Oscar, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku among many other promising youth players. With experienced players like ours, it isn’t too much of a hassle building the perfect team. Players like Ramires, Juan Mata and Luiz are all pushing on their mid-20s, and have adapted to the English and European game, providing a good platform and security for younger players to burst onto the scene with their fresh vision, and in doing so, building a sustainable team that will last us at least 4-5 years.
One such player that is reportedly in line to join the young 1st team at Chelsea is Vitesse Arnhem’s 20-year-old midfielder, Marco van Ginkel. His agent, Karel Jansen, today confirmed Chelsea’s interest in van Ginkel:

“There are other clubs interested, but the talks with Mourinho have been very positive and he’s very serious about completing a deal.”

You know it’s time to get excited when the player has ‘Marco van’ in his name! Jokes aside, this youngster has gained a reputation as one of the brightest midfielders to arise in the Netherlands.  With exceptional quality, and a face that has gained him the nickname, ‘Justin Bieber’, among the Dutch fans, van Ginkel is a player that has the potential to reach the top.
The link has come about in the smoothest possible manner, due to the relationship Roman Abramovich and Chelsea share with Vitesse Arnhem. With players like Patrick van Aanholt and Gael Kakuta having loan spells at Vitesse, the grateful Chairman, Mr. Jordania, says of the Chelsea owner: “Roman is a great friend.”
Among Jordania’s plan to overhaul Vitesse into a Dutch ‘Super Team’, Marco van Ginkel, raised in the city of Arnhem, was one of the very few that was promoted into a team full of, by Dutch standards, star footballers.
He proved that the Vitesse management were right to keep him, making his debut at a mere age of 17 and going on to establish himself as a first team regular. He has gone on to make 93 appearances for the club, scoring 18 goals in total.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Il6Gximnw]
Marco van Ginkel is an exact replica of Ramires in terms of his footballing mentality, but is built like Frank Lampard. He’s an extremely versatile right-footed box-to-box midfielder, and is at the centre of a number of attacks for Vitesse and the Netherlands U21 team. Made to play in the midfield pivot, van Ginkel earns his bread bursting through the middle and creating several link ups with the attacking players, and latches on to any ball played his way, and has the finishing of a proper forward, which we’ve become so accustomed to seeing with Lampard. However, being in the midfield pivot, he wholly accepts his defensive responsibilities, and makes brilliant interceptions and wins aerial headers with ease. Much like Oscar in deep midfield, he also specialises in snapping at the heels of players that get past him.

All in all this is a player that possesses every quality you need to be successful in English football – Pace, strength, stamina, great dribbling ability and quick feet. He also has on him a deadly, powerful shot that fly straight as an arrow.
It was reported in De Telegraaf, not too long ago, that Chelsea and Vitesse Arnhem came to an agreement for van Ginkel’s fee at €8.5m. The transfer should happen soon, with Netherlands and van Ginkel making their U21 World Cup exit.

His work ethic and commitment will make him a firm favourite with Mourinho, as the new Chelsea manager seeks out a long-term replacement for Frank Lampard, who Mourinho held in high regard during his first stint at the club.