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Marco Van Ginkel:
Marco van Ginkel of Chelsea FC with Chanathip Songkrasin of Singha All-Star during the international friendly match between Chelsea FC and the Singha Thailand All-Star XI on July 17, 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo by Thananuwat Srirasant/Getty Images)
A Dutch U21 international signed for just €8 million, Van Ginkel is a dynamic midfielder who can play across the line in a standard 4-3-3 formation.
A player who has shown a lot of maturity at a very young age, he is the kind of midfield presence Chelsea have sorely missed since letting Ballack leave. Although he has yet a lot to prove to be considered in the league of the charismatic German, Van Ginkel has a very similar playing style.
Suited perfectly well to playing in a midfield band of 3 and as a pivot midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, both of which are, incidentally, his new manager’s preferred formations, the young Dutchman has a very good reading of the game. Already able to recognize and block out passing lanes and take charge of an opposing player as necessity dictates, Van Ginkel is far more developed as a player than most 20-year old central midfielders are.
He is naturally suited to play in a double pivot, with a more defensive minded player with him rather than acting as the defensive player himself. An excellent pass distribution ability just adds to his worth in recycling possession, as well as transitioning from defense to attack. Be it playing a simple forward pass to start a move or a long trajectory towards a team-mate running on the counter, Van Ginkel can do it all.
Even in a midfield trio, Van Ginkel can play on both sides, while also possessing the technical ability to tackle and shield the defense acceptably well when his team is on the attack. For all his attributes and talents though, Marco is not yet of the caliber that he can hold down a spot in Chelsea’s strongest 11, but will probably be one of the most influential players in the midfield for the Blues from the bench in the face of squad rotation, as the manager tries to keep all his players fresh.
Van Ginkel is definitely one who can help the cause this season, but he seems more of a buy who has been brought in for the future.
Keeping the abilities and qualities of both players in mind, it is difficult to come to a conclusion as to who would have the bigger impact on Chelsea’s season.
Schurrle has the advantage of being more mature and better developed, but faces more than stiff competition if he wants to get minutes. Van Ginkel may not be as far down the development road as Schurrle, but has tremendous potential, which when coupled with the fact that Chelsea are not really deep when it comes to genuine midfielders, could see him get a significant amount of minutes.
Schurrle may just have a better impact and be more helpful to the Chelsea mission this season, but Van Ginkel definitely seems like the brighter prospect.
