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We have had welcome news in the past few days that Marco Van Ginkel has returned to training at Cobham during this international break as he makes his surprising return to action. Could Van Ginkel offer Jose Mourinho something different?
Plenty has been said of his injury and the prognosis back at that stage of the season. He was told his season was over and all of us thought the same. For him to come back earlier than expected and to be available to play a part during the business end of the season is credit to him and the Chelsea medical team.
Before his injury we had heard Van Ginkel talk of being promised first team football at Chelsea this season under Mourinho and he had made a promising start in pre season.
Whether or not that has changed with the acquisition of Nemanja Matic remains to be seen but compared to Matic, Van Ginkel gives Mourinho another option similar to that of Frank Lampard.
I look at the young Dutchman and see a lot of similarities to Lampard already and it’s important to remember he is still only 21.
A player who likes to get forward an attack and score goals, someone who can pick a pass and play people in and if required, play in a deeper role to concentrate of the defensive side of the game, Van Ginkel (once fully fit) would give Mourinho some additional energy in the middle.
I personally feel that the better combination we have in the two holding positions at the moment would be Matic next to Ramires but of course that’s up for debate.
He may only play a minimal amount between now and the end of the season but it’s great to have MVG back in training to bolster our numbers. Who knows what will happen between now and the end of the season with injuries and suspensions.
That’s what Chelsea has though isn’t it, plenty of strength in depth and that could become decisive in the next couple of months.
