The last few days of the summer transfer window saw the arrivals of Fernando Torres, Giacomo Bonaventura and Marco Van Ginkel at AC Milan. The fans had previously sulked, cribbed and criticised for much of the window. Towards the end, they were rejoicing.
There remain two separate schools of thought concerning Torres and his future at the club, while Bonaventura has inspired confidence within the squad and among the fans. Wulfert Cornelius “Marco” van Ginkel though, remains a largely unknown quantity to many fans on the sub-continent.
The nature of the transfer also adds to the overall skepticism. Van Ginkel moved to AC Milan from Chelsea, on a season-long loan without an option to buy. This, on the back of Bryan Cristante’s permanent move to Benfica. The sale of AC Milan’s highly acclaimed youth prospect followed by the arrival of a young midfielder who is expected to return to Chelsea at the end of the season created a sense of anxiety within fans. Is this a short fix, or is Van Ginkel part of a bigger agenda? Are these two moves connected?
The Mirror has suggested that Van Ginkel can become “a hybrid of Frank Lampard and vintage Michael Essien.” The English media profiled the Dutchman as a versatile midfielder with an engine; deceptively fast for a player of his height, equipped with timely runs into the box and capable of drilling a long shot. Van Ginkel, in an interview for Chelsea TV, further substantiates this description by claiming that he is a complete box-to-box midfielder, who can attack and defend, score and track back.
This description would strongly suggest that he fits perfectly into the system that Filippo Inzaghi intends to implement at AC Milan. The team under Inzaghi’s management has demonstrated speed, vigor and a sense of urgency to dispossess the opposition. Van Ginkel would suitably slot on either side of the holding midfielder and effectively facilitate the execution of his duties within the system.
Those who have followed Cristante would know that the Italian was more suited to playing deeper in midfield and preferred to ping diagonal passes across the pitch. Since the two players aren’t similar, it’s perhaps safe to conclude that AC Milan did not consider the sale of Cristante and the on-boarding of Van Ginkel to be a like-for-like replacement. These were mutually exclusive moves.
One look at AC Milan’s roster would indicate that the club is lacking in quality in the middle of the park. Van Ginkel instantly addresses that concern. He is an unquestionable upgrade over the current talent available to Inzaghi. He could quite easily become a starter under the new manager and help the club achieve its ambitions of finishing in the top three. Reports claimed that Nigel De Jong has been tasked with the responsibility of mentoring the prodigy. Van Ginkel admitted to the veteran’s influence in bringing him to AC Milan in an interview with the club’s official channel. It all adds up.
On the surface level Van Ginkel’s move to AC Milan appears shortsighted, albeit with mutually beneficial factors. He gets to play more, receives tutelage from a Dutch stalwart and is gifted the privilege of representing a legendary football club. AC Milan, on the other hand, have in their side a footballer who would immediately inject quality to a dire midfield.
The youngster admitted to having moved to AC Milan because Chelsea did not provide the Rossoneri with an option to buy. He has stated his intent right from the start, and if AC Milan opt to sign him, Chelsea will ensure that they are paid handsomely for it. AC Milan’s financial predicament puts them on the defensive, complicating the potential of any transfer. Securing the midfielder’s permanent transfer will be harder than one would presume under the given circumstances. Meanwhile, AC Milan must attempt to extract the most out of this talented player before he boards the plane back to London on May, 2015.
Follow Rajath Kumar on Twitter: @rajathkumar. You can read his work on his AC Milan blog “Milan and Me; The Love Affair” — http://rajaththemilanista.wordpress.com/
