Marco van Ginkel completed his transfer from Vitesse Arnhem on Friday afternoon, and was quickly in to sit down with the official Chelsea website…
Marco, welcome to Chelsea. What are your first impressions?
Really good, I’m very happy to be here at such a nice club with great players. I am really happy, the stadium is good and the training ground is fantastic.
I know about all the players and will meet them on Monday. I expect a lot, I’ve watched matches and it’s really nice to be here.
What can you tell fans about yourself?
I am a box-to-box player. I cover a lot of metres and can score a goal, but I also like to defend and think of myself as a real team player.
You had a fantastic season last year, winning an the Dutch Football Talent of the Year award…
Yes, I had a good season and won the award, which I am really proud of. We were fourth in the table, which for Vitesse is really good. It was a good season and I think that’s why I am here. I wanted to make a step up and Chelsea was a good opportunity.
Have you spoken to Jose Mourinho?
I spoke with the manager and he had some good words for me. If a trainer like this says these things to you it makes you really proud and I am happy to work with him.
What are your personal targets this season?
I want to learn a lot, to develop myself. I want to play games and not only sit on the bench, that’s what I hope for, to play in games at these great stadiums and hopefully be important for the team, whether it is from the bench or from the start.
You played alongside several Chelsea loanees at Vitesse…
Yes, I played with Patrick van Aanholt, Tomas Kalas and Gael Kakuta last season. They also helped me. I asked a lot of things about the club and they said that Chelsea is incredible. Now I am here I can see this. I think they will help when I train on Monday also.
How much do you look forward to that first day of pre-season training on Monday?
I look forward to it a lot. It’s not scary, but I will be a little bit nervous maybe! Playing with players like Frank Lampard and John Terry will be a huge thing. I played three years at Vitesse, but the Premier League is very good, and I will enjoy playing with these players with this experience.
It marks the beginning of a very important season for you, which could culminate with the World Cup…
Yes, everybody wants to go there to Brazil. You have to play, that’s what Louis van Gaal has said to players. I think I can play games and I think the Premier League is higher than the Dutch league, so you can learn more physically and technically, and develop. That’s why I am here.
You can hear more from Van Ginkel with Chelsea TV…