Unchartered territory for new boy
Chelsea has often been a graveyard for young guns looking to progress their career with a move to a big club, but who've floundered badly once installed at Stamford Bridge.
Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Ross Turnbull, Victor Moses, Thibaut Courtois, Oriol Romeu and Marko Marin are just a selection of the names that have struggled to make an impact in west London due to a lack of playing time.
On the flip side, the likes of Oscar, Eden Hazard and David Luiz slotted into the first-team seamlessly and appear integral to Chelsea's future under returning manager Jose Mourinho.
Dutch international midfielder Marco Van Ginkel became the Blues' latest recruit when joining from Vitesse Arnhem in a £9m deal earlier this week. The 20-year-old has been touted as a natural successor to goalscoring legend Frank Lampard in the centre of the park; but with the England man still firmly ensconced in the fabric of the club, will the young pretender to his throne get the chance to prove his worth?
Allied to the enduring presence of Lampard, the new man will have to fight off team-mates Oscar, Juan Mata and Eden Hazard for a spot in the starting line-up; no easy task for a relatively inexperienced campaigner.
Ajax sporting director and former Arsenal winger Marc Overmars recently stated his concern over Van Ginkel's switch from the Eredivisie to the Premier League, suggesting the box-to-box midfield man should have considered a move to Amsterdam in order to further his footballing education, as opposed to diving in at the deep end with the 2012 Champions League winners. Overmars is convinced it'll transpire that the Dutchman left his homeland far too early in his fledgling career.
There have been reports Van Ginkel received assurances over the importance of his role under Mourinho during negotiations over the transfer, but the strength of the squad around him surely rules out any prospect of a guaranteed start. Despite a fine season with Vitesse last time out, there's nowhere near enough evidence yet that he'll be capable of waltzing into Chelsea's first eleven immediately.
If the highly-rated starlet hits the ground running on arrival in London, then he certainly possesses the potential to make a place in the team his own. However, he will find it particularly difficult to oust the cast of stellar names surrounding him in the Chelsea dressing room and may need to exercise patience in his quest for a significant slice of the action.
Several quality players have gone before him and suffered from a severe lack of opportunities to show their true colours, while others have flourished in the face of stern competition for places. Van Ginkel will absolutely have his work cut out to avoid becoming another superstar in the making who never quite lived up to his reputation.
There's no doubting he holds all the skill and class required to break into the side and stay there on a permanent basis; he must simply knuckle down and show the world what he's made of.
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