After making his way through the various youth levels at the club, Van Ginkel debuted for the senior team in 2010 before sealing a transfer around £9 million to Chelsea in 2013.

[4] Van Ginkel made his debut for Vitesse on 9 April 2010, replacing Nicky Hofs in the 67th minute as the club fell to a 4–1 defeat to RKC Waalwijk in Eredivisie action.

[8] In the KNVB Cup on 19 December 2012, Van Ginkel scored Vitesse's second goal in a memorable 10–1 win over third division side ADO '20.

[9] On 23 February 2013, Van Ginkel notched a brace and Wilfried Bony netted a hat-trick as Vitesse defeated Heracles in a 5–3 win.

[13] On 3 July 2013, English Premier League club Chelsea announced that they had reached an agreement with Vitesse for the transfer of Van Ginkel.

[16] Speaking to the official Chelsea website upon his signing with the club, Van Ginkel described himself as "a box-to-box player" who "covers a lot of metres and can score a goal".

On 24 September, in a League Cup match against Swindon Town, Van Ginkel suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that kept him out of play for around seven months.

During his loan spell, Van Ginkel wore the number 21 jersey, formerly owned by some of the great names of the club such as Andrea Pirlo and Mauro Tassotti.

[22][23] Following his injury, Van Ginkel made his way back on the bench on 19 October, as Milan faced Hellas Verona, but was an unused substitute.

Van Ginkel would continue to be left on the bench without a single minute of game time, leading his agent, Karl Jansen, to speak out: "We aren't happy about that is clear.

[30] On 10 July 2015, Van Ginkel joined Stoke City on loan for the 2015–16 season as part of a deal that saw goalkeeper Asmir Begović move to Chelsea for £8 million.

[42] Although there was talk of a return to PSV on another loan in the summer, Van Ginkel confirmed that he would not be leaving the London side due to a knee injury.

[52] On 31 January 2023, Van Ginkel returned to his boyhood club Vitesse for an undisclosed fee, signing a contract until June 2024 with the Arnhem-based team.

[54] Van Ginkel made his senior debut with the Netherlands national team against Germany on 14 November 2012, coming on as a late substitute in their 0–0 friendly at the Amsterdam Arena.

[56] After being absent from the senior team for four years, Van Ginkel was recalled to the squad for a friendly against England on 29 March 2016, a 2–1 Dutch victory.