There wasn't a lot to love about Chelsea's performance against Real Madrid in Miami, but anyone watching couldn't help but come away impressed by what they saw from Marco van Ginkel. Most fans and pundits believed that the young Dutchman would be destined for a season or two away from London before eventually settling with the first team, but I doubt too many of them still think he doesn't have a chance to contribute right away.
Van Ginkel has gotten better basically every time out this summer, and his all around game hasn't shown too many areas where major improvement is required. He's generally playing it safe when in possession, opting for a shorter pass to a teammate rather than trying to unlock the defense himself. That's fine by me, as we have plenty of players further up the pitch that can do exactly that.
His defensive work was also very good on Wednesday, he had quite a few tackles and interceptions to go along with generally solid positioning throughout. If he keeps playing at this level, the midfield might not be as much of an issue next season as it was over the past few.