Chelsea loan army: Keep, loan or sell? Marco van Ginkel (Part 26)

In Part 25 of this series, I broke down Jon Russell’s career at Chelsea and discussed what his future in football looks like. For those who haven’t read the introductory piece to this series, a different player will be the subject of a new article every day. I began with goalkeepers and am currently in the process of working my way up the pitch, with each position group being sorted in order by the way in which they appear on the club’s website.

As I move on with the loan army series, I continue the deep dive into the midfield loanees with Marco van Ginkel. Van Ginkel is one of the most heartbreaking stories in football. His career has been full of “what ifs,” as injuries have played their part in keeping him off the pitch. Despite this, the midfielder has always overcome these setbacks and is once again trying to establish himself as a top footballer.

More from Chelsea FC Loan Watch

• Chelsea: The €30m January signing who will highly excel with Pochettino’s appointment
• Chelsea loan Army: How Ian Maatsen has got on at Burnley
• What’s next for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher as asking price revealed?
• The next man up for Chelsea: Left back Ian Maatsen
• The next man up for Chelsea: Center forward Mason Burstow

What does Marco van Ginkel’s Chelsea career look like?

Van Ginkel took the reverse route of many Blues loanees before him. Born in Amersfoort in the Netherlands, he began his football career at Vitesse. Van Ginkel joined the Dutch side as a 7-year-old. He played for the Vitas’ academy from 1999 until his professional debut in 2010. The midfielder was handed his Eredivisie debut toward the end of the 2009/10 season.

It was the next season that he established himself as an integral part of Vitesse’s starting XI. Van Ginkel would go on to play 28 total matches in his full debut campaign, scoring five goals. He continued the momentum over the next two years, appearing in 38 and 41 matches respectively. His performances—specifically in Europa League qualifying and the 2012/13 Eredivisie—caught the eye of Chelsea, but it was the comparisons that sold the Blues. Vitesse manager Peter Bosz called him “the next Frank Lampard” and given Van Ginkel’s ability to score goals at a rapid rate, few denied the claim.

Van Ginkel made his move to the Premier League official in July of 2013. He made his Chelsea debut on the opening day of the Premier League season, coming on as a substitute against Hull City. Overall, he played in four competitive games before his season came to a screeching halt. Van Ginkel suffered an ACL injury that kept him out for seven months. He would recover in time to join the U21s for the remainder of the year, but didn’t play again for the first team.

Still just 22, Van Ginkel continued his long road to recovery during the following campaign when he joined AC Milan on a season-long loan. Once again though, injuries took their toll on the Dutch midfielder. His debut was cut short with an ankle injury that kept him off the pitch for another two months. A nasty challenge in training in December ruled him out for another eight weeks and his recovery was derailed once again. It wasn’t until April that van Ginkel became a mainstay in the Milan squad. In total, he made 18 appearances for the Italian giants.

The 2015/16 season saw him head to Stoke City temporarily as Asmir Begovic made the switch to Stamford Bridge. Van Ginkel began the year as an important piece to the Potters’ midfield, but as the campaign dragged on, he fell out of favor. His loan was cancelled and he went back to Chelsea on February 1. The Blues were quick to find another move to the midfielder, Van Ginkel returned to Holland for the remainder of the season with PSV Eindhoven.

He was a smashing success for PSV during the few months he was there. Van Ginkel netted eight goals in 13 Eredivisie games. There was mutual interest to see him return, but a small injury kept him at Cobham for the first few months of the 2016/17 league year. Van Ginkel returned to PSV on a short-term loan that’d later be extended for another season. He was named captain of the Dutch club during his second season. The midfielder’s 21 goal contributions (16 goals and five assists in 33 games) helped PSV take home some silverware during his last season there in the form of the Eredivisie title.

Unfortunately, injuries took their biggest toll on Van Ginkel following his best season to date. In 2018, he tore his ACL and spent the next two years recovering at Chelsea. The Blues gave the midfielder a one-year deal in 2020 and sent him out on loan to PSV once more. He’s played in eight matches this season, but only managed 90 total minutes as he continues on the path to a full recovery.

This begs the question: what does Chelsea do with van Ginkel this summer?

Verdict: “Sell”

Van Ginkel is an absolute trooper. He’s been nothing but classy, despite playing just four games in seven seasons at Chelsea, and deserves a lot of praise for that. The 28-year-old is one of the unluckiest players in the Blues’ history. As fans, our hearts ache for Van Ginkel as many truly believe he could’ve been the Lampard successor before Mason Mount. All of that being said, Van Ginkel deserves to stay at PSV. He’s loved by fans and his home country is where he needs to spend his career. Regardless of what happens from here on out, I think I can speak for all Chelsea fans when I say I hope Van Ginkel finds his form once again, stays healthy and succeeds until he decides to hang his boots up. I’ve used the term unlucky a lot, but quite honestly, that doesn’t even begin to describe Van Ginkel’s career.

Remember to check back with The Pride of London each and every day as I dive into the largely uncharted world of Chelsea’s famous loan army. Part 27’s subject is midfielder Tariq Uwakwe.