Surely Real Madrid won’t bench the £85m man…?
Despite his world-record £85m transfer fee, Welsh flyer Gareth Bale will not be guaranteed a starting spot at Real Madrid, BBC Sport reports.
Assistant coach Paul Clement has reminded the 24-year-old that he will have to work hard to ensure he gets game time at the Bernabeu.
“There’s a lot of competition for places – no-one will be guaranteed anything,” said Clement, an Englishman.
“Coach Carlo Ancelotti has a clear idea how to use him but things can change.”
Bale scored 26 goals in all competitions for Tottenham, and put in a string of match winning performances, which tempted the La Liga giants to shell out the astronomical fee for his services.
Clement doesn’t necessary think that the enlarged fee means Bale will be used as a focal point of the side, and has assured fans that the world-record signing will be used in whatever way best suits the team.
“Carlo is flexible enough to use Gareth and other players in different capacities,” Clement continued.
“At Southampton, Bale played at left-back which he also did at Spurs where he became a more left-sided player. He recently became more central. He’s got that versatility.
“It’ll be interesting to see how players fit in together. We’ll be trying to find their best position and what’s best for the team as quickly as possible.”
On top of this, Clement has encouraged Bale to learn the language as quickly as possible.
“He spoke some lines during the news conference. It’s a great life quality if he knuckles down and learns. Our communication with the team as a whole will be in Spanish,” said the assistant coach.
Bale will hope to play his first match for Los Blancos away at Villareal on September 14, and will try to put in a strong performance so that his new teammates quickly forget Mesut Ozil’s £42m departure to Arsenal.
COMMENTS