Marco Van Ginkel Set For Chelsea FC Return After AC Milan Loan Spell

Highly touted Dutch youngster Marco Van Ginkel will be heading back to Chelsea FC after his loan with AC Milan ends this summer. Van Ginkel is spending the 2014/15 season on loan with the Serie A giants but unfortunately for Marco he has been spending more time in the recovery room than on the pitch. AC Milan reportedly had an option to make his loan deal permanent at the end of the season but have also reportedly decided against it.

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The Dutch youngster has only made four appearances for AC Milan this season but this has been largely due to his inability to stay healthy. He suffered what was thought to be a major knee injury before the winter break but instead only missed a few weeks of action. It could have been his second major knee injury in two years after tearing knee ligaments in a Capital One Cup match with Chelsea last season.

Van Ginkel was one of the most promising youngsters to join Chelsea and was lined up for an expanded role in the midfield. He was going to be seeing a decent amount of action last season as a backup to Frank Lampard but that knee injury, as they often do, derailed his season and has put his career on a bit of a pause. Ideally he would have made the most of his move to Milan and taken over the central midfield role alongside Nigel De Jong but again injuries derailed his plans.

It would not be right to judge Marco Van Ginkel by his play this season or his lack of it because he is still struggling to maintain fitness. He showed in his time with Vitesse Arnhem and with the Dutch U21s that he is a classy midfielder with a goalscoring touch. His 18 goals in 93 appearances for Vitesse is an excellent return for a more deep lying midfielder and it shows why for a brief period he was considered the heir apparent to Lampard in the Chelsea midfield.

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That role has since been filled with Spanish international Cesc Fabregas but that is not to say that Marco Van Ginkel does not have a future with the Blues. He is still one of the more intriguing prospects in the Chelsea set up and despite the glut of midfielders he can still make a place for himself. At just 22, Van Ginkel still has the prime of his career ahead of him but before he can lock down a place in any team’s starting lineup he must focus on staying healthy and beating the injury bug.

Next: De Bruyne Feels Small Transfer Fee Kept Him On The Bench