Starting with a recognisable name, the Dutch midfielder signed for £8 million from Chelsea feeder club, Vitesse Arnhem, in the summer of 2013. He's tall, strong and versatile, as tough in the tackle as dangerous going forward, a box-to-box man in the purest sense of the word. Pre-season has given the impression Mourinho may see his future as a partner for Nemanja Matic in the double pivot, playing a slightly more offensive role whilst not straying too far forward to reduce protection on the back four. With two Dutch caps already from his time at Vitesse, where he appeared almost 100 times and scored 18 goals, he's certainly on the brink of being the kind of established talent I promised to overlook for this list. However, he's still only 21 and his progress was stalled by a severe cruciate injury early last season, meaning he has still only made four Chelsea appearances. He's still picking himself up and working to establish his place in the Chelsea squad, but if he can prove himself to Mourinho, he could be just the kind of physical all-rounder the club needs in the middle of the field. He's also got a completely amazing full name: Wulfert Cornelius van Ginkel.
28-year old English writer with a borderline obsessive passion for films, videogames, Chelsea FC, incomprehensible words and indefensible puns. Follow me on Twitter if you like infrequent outbursts of absolute drivel.
