A Progress Report on Chelsea's AC Milan Loanee Marco Van Ginkel

His time with AC Milan was set to end before it truly began. 

By January, Marco van Ginkel had featured just twice for the Rossoneri. When he was healthy, he wasn't picked. When he played, he went down injured. An ankle problem forced him to miss the majority of the early action.

His loan spell in Italy was looking like a disaster. One report from the Daily Mirror, among many others, had him going back to Chelsea, all but ending the deal with Milan prematurely. 

But Van Ginkel stayed and fought for his place. Now he's set to start in the Milan derby after playing the full 90 minutes in the past four matches. Slowly he has found a role in the team: that of the supplier and box-to-box midfielder.

A couple of weeks ago at Palermo, the 22-year-old earned his first assist with Milan. He set up Alessio Cerci's first goal with the club, too. It was a maiden moment for two players who had not quite fitted in. And they both celebrated like they had truly won something—if not a trophy then some confidence.

Fabrizio Giovannozzi/Associated Press

At the moment, Milan have not paid a cent for van Ginkel. According to Tuttosport (h/t talkSPORT) Chelsea would have received £1 million had he made 20 appearances with the Rossoneri, but he's only managed half of that with a further eight games left in the season. 

That doesn't mean Milan won't spend on him in the future. Van Ginkel could opt to make the switch permanent.

"Staying at Milan? Anything is possible, there is no reason to rule it out," his agent Karel Jansen told the Evening Standard. "It is early and we need to see what would happen in case there's a change of management at the club.

"Additionally we have to deal with Chelsea and see what Marco wants to do. Chelsea is still his goal. We hope to conclude everything before the end of the transfer window."

Chelsea could try to recoup the £8 million that they spent to take him from Vitesse in 2013. Whether that is too much for Milan is another question.

The fact that it is even a question in itself is a stunning turn of events. Here's a player who could not get a game—let alone consecutive starts—on a sub-par Milan squad struggling to compete for Europe. Suddenly he is a hot property. And for good reason: all Van Ginkel lacks is consistency. The Dutchman had not played regular first-team football since 2013. An ACL injury in his fourth game with Chelsea interrupted his growth.

But all the tools are there. He has the vision to make key passes and the pace to join the attack. On his best form, he is the player Milan need: a youngster with the ability to do a little of everything in midfield. He is effectively a poor man's Paul Pogba.

A few more good performances could convince Milan to keep him, especially given the uncertain future of Dutch teammate Nigel de Jong, whose contract expires in the summer.

Maybe they don't have to look far for his heir.