Chelsea have turned down an approach from Ajax Amsterdam to secure the services of young midfielder Marco van Ginkel on loan, according to the Dutch club's director of football, Marc Overmars. Ajax, currently weighing up a bid from Tottenham Hotspur for Christian Eriksen, will need midfield reinforcements before they agree to sell, and their thoughts rather naturally turned to van Ginkel, whose standout performances in the Eredivisie over the past few seasons led the Blues to buy him from Vitesse earlier this summer:
We would like to see van Ginkel playing at Ajax. For that type of player we are willing to pay top price. I've tried, but Chelsea will not let him go.
-Source: Sky Sports.
Although van Ginkel is still waiting for his first Chelsea start -- he's made two substitute appearances in three games so far -- I have the feeling that he'll have a major part to play this season and in the future. A loan deal would severely reduce the Blues' flexibility in midfield and would also allow Spurs to reinforce their own more easily. It's not difficult to see why this was a non-starter.
It's still nice to see that our youngsters are regarded so highly, however. Van Ginkel's going to go far.