Mourinho set to make young Dutch star his first signing for Chelsea

Chelsea look set to land the young Dutch star Marco van Ginkel from Vitesse this summer as Jose Mourinho looks to strengthen his squad ahead of next year’s season. Not many Chelsea fans will have heard of van Ginkel, but in Holland he is one the most promising rising stars and the recent recipient of the Eredivisie’s young player of the year award. A strong, box to box midfielder, van Ginkel would be expected to command a fee somewhere in the region of £10 million pounds.

Chelsea have a strong working relationship with Vitesse, with young players Gael Kakuta and Patrick van Aanholt spending last season on loan with them. This relationship is expected to smooth the waters somewhat with the Dutch club, and that may be necessary with Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV all reportedly interested in player. Vitesse managed to finish fourth in the Eredivisie this season, guaranteeing them a place in next year’s Europa League, and van Ginkel has been seen as instrumental in this impressive push up the table. A call up to the national squad last November for the friendly with Germany also helped put van Ginkel on many people’s radar.

The midfielder scored 8 times last season in 33 appearances in the league, and rather than be a promising player for the future, van Ginkel wants to play regular first team football. While he may hope to establish his place in the Chelsea side, there does remain the concern that van Ginkel might be convinced to join another team that can guarantee him first team football. PSV midfielder Kevin Strootman looks increasingly likely to leave this summer, and that would open up a slot in the PSV midfield that van Ginkel might well see as a more sensible move at this point in his career. Regardless, it is reassuring to know that despite our current lack of confirmed manager, the club appear to pushing on with their recruitment drive. We need a couple of signings this summer, and while van Ginkel might not be the first name on people’s lips, we can all expect to become a lot more familiar with the name in the coming weeks.

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