Marco van Ginkel

Former Chelsea manager José Mourinho spoke of the youngster, likening him to England greats Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. He has described Van Ginkel as an engine with immense physical power. As with several others, Mourinho was quick to point out his overall game: "He covers a fantastic area of the field defensively and after that he has this instinct where he wants to go into finishing areas, he wants to score goals. He’s very good in the air."

He played on 15 April 2018 as PSV beat rivals Ajax 3–0 to clinch the 2017–18 Eredivisie title.

On 10 July 2018, van Ginkel had an operation to reconstruct his anterior cruciate ligament and treat damage in his knee, and expected to be out for around eight months.

On 16 July 2017, van Ginkel's loan spell at PSV was extended for the 2017–18 campaign. Despite his age and being a loanee, van Ginkel replaced Luuk de Jong as captain.

Although there was talk of a return to PSV on another loan in the summer, Van Ginkel confirmed that he will not be leaving the London side due to a knee injury. After his recovery at Chelsea, however, Van Ginkel signed a new three-year contract on 31 December 2016 and rejoined PSV for a second loan spell.

Van Ginkel made his return to the bench on 18 January 2015, but it was not until 24 January that Van Ginkel made his return onto the pitch, playing against Lazio; he was substituted off in the 55th minute. Van Ginkel played every minute in the league since 4 April, and on 9 May, he scored the opener in a 2–1 home victory over Roma.

On 10 July 2015, Van Ginkel joined Stoke City on loan for the 2015–16 season as part of a deal that saw goalkeeper Asmir Begović move to Chelsea for £8 million. Van Ginkel made his debut for Stoke on 9 August in a 1–0 defeat against Liverpool. After starting the first six matches of the season his place in midfield was taken by Ibrahim Afellay. Following the arrival of Giannelli Imbula on 1 February 2016, Stoke cancelled Van Ginkel's loan.

Van Ginkel made his competitive return to football in Chelsea's under-21s' match away to Manchester United on 21 March 2014.

On 1 September 2014, Milan announced that Van Ginkel had joined the Serie A club on loan from Chelsea for the 2014–15 season. During his loan spell, Van Ginkel wore the number 21 jersey, formerly owned by some of the great names of the club such as Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Tassotti.

Van Ginkel made his first appearance for Milan on the bench against Parma on 14 September 2014, but he did not make his debut until 23 September. On 23 September, he made his first start, as well as his debut, for Milan against Empoli. His debut, however, was cut short as he was taken off on a stretcher in the 34th minute after suffering an ankle injury.

On 3 July 2013, English Premier League club Chelsea announced that they had reached an agreement with Vitesse for the transfer of Van Ginkel. With the fee reported to be in the region of £8 million. On 5 July, Chelsea confirmed that they had completed the signing of Van Ginkel, with the Dutch international midfielder signing a five-year contract with the club. Speaking to the official Chelsea website upon his signing with the club, Van Ginkel described himself as "a box-to-box player" who "covers a lot of metres and can score a goal".

On the opening day of the 2013–14 Premier League season, Van Ginkel made his competitive debut for Chelsea as a substitute against Hull City. On 18 September 2013, he played his first UEFA Champions League game in a 2–1 home defeat by Basel. On 24 September, in a League Cup match against Swindon Town, Van Ginkel suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that kept him out of play for around seven months.

On 30 November, Van Ginkel was finally deemed fit enough to start for Milan in a match against Udinese. He played nearly the entire game, being substituted off for Riccardo Montolivo in the 89th minute in a 2–0 Milan victory. In the following game, on 7 December, Van Ginkel was again left on the bench as an unused substitute as Milan crashed into a 1–0 defeat against Genoa.

Following Stoke's decision to cancel Van Ginkel's loan, he joined PSV on loan for the remainder of the season and reuniting him with former Vitesse teammate Davy Pröpper. Van Ginkel was given the number 28 jersey upon arrival. He made his PSV debut against Utrecht in the quarter-finals of the KNVB Cup, which ended in a 3–1 loss for PSV. He made his league debut on 7 February against Utrecht, three days after PSV's loss in the KNVB Cup. In his league debut, Van Ginkel scored his first goal for PSV as they won 2–0. In the following match, Van Ginkel scored the third goal in a 3–0 win over NEC. On 2 April, Van Ginkel scored a brace against AZ which ended in a 4–2 victory. On 1 May, he scored another brace in a 6–2 win over Cambuur. He won the Eredivisie title with PSV, playing a crucial part for the team by scoring eight goals during his spell.

At international level, Van Ginkel represented the Netherlands at the under-19 and under-21 levels before making his senior team debut against Germany in November 2012.

In the KNVB Cup on 19 December 2012, Van Ginkel scored Vitesse's second goal in a memorable 10–1 win over third division side ADO '20. On 23 February 2013, Van Ginkel notched a brace and Wilfried Bony netted a hat-trick as Vitesse defeated Heracles in a 5–3 win. After a stellar campaign that saw Van Ginkel net eight Eredivisie goals and Vitesse finish in fourth, the club's highest position since finishing in third in 1998, he was voted as the Dutch Talent of the Year awarding his play as the best footballer in the league under 21. Upon his prospected moved to Chelsea, he was regarded as being the next Frank Lampard by Vitesse manager Peter Bosz.

Van Ginkel made his senior debut with the Netherlands national team against Germany on 14 November 2012, coming on as a late substitute in their 0–0 friendly at the Amsterdam Arena. In May 2013, Van Ginkel was included in the Netherlands squad for the UEFA U21 Championship in Israel. After being absent from the senior team for four years, Van Ginkel was recalled to the squad for a friendly against England on 29 March 2016, a 2–1 Dutch victory.

Van Ginkel made his debut for Vitesse on 9 April 2010, replacing Nicky Hofs in the 67th minute as the club fell to a 4–1 defeat to RKC Waalwijk in Eredivisie action. He was just seventeen at the time of his senior club debut. His first senior goal for the club came in his first appearance of the 2010–11 Eredivisie campaign, netting in the 43rd minute to bring the game to 2–2 before two second-half goals sent Ajax to a 4–2 win. Van Ginkel scored Vitesse's second and fifth goals in a 5–2 defeat of Roda JC on 29 January 2011.

Van Ginkel began his career in the youth ranks of Vitesse, joining the Arnhem-based club as a six-year-old in 1999. After making his way through the various youth levels at the club, Van Ginkel debuted for the senior team in 2010 before sealing a transfer around £9 million to Chelsea in 2013. He suffered a serious knee injury early into his Chelsea career which ruled him out for seven months. He then went on season-long loans to Milan in 2014–15, Stoke City and PSV in 2015–16.

Wulfert Cornelius "Marco" van Ginkel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑrkoː vɑŋ ˈɣɪŋkəl] ( listen ) ; born 1 December 1992) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Chelsea and the Netherlands national team.