Tuesday 8 August 2017 18:33, UK
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale faces a make-or-break season at the Santiago Bernabeu, according to Sky Sports' Spanish football expert Terry Gibson.
Bale endured an injury-interrupted campaign in the Spanish capital last time around, featuring in only 27 matches in all competitions as Real won La Liga and retained the Champions League.
However, with youngsters such as Marco Asensio having broken into the Madrid first team last season and reports also linking the club with a move for Monaco striker Kylian Mbappe, Bale may no longer be guaranteed a first-team place in Zinedine Zidane's starting XI.
"It is a massive year for Bale, I would say it is almost make or break for Bale at Real Madrid," Gibson told the La Liga Weekly podcast. "These youngsters are breathing down his neck, Asensio in particular.
It is a massive year for Bale, I would say it is almost make or break for Bale at Real Madrid
"I am not going to doubt Bale, he has just been unlucky with injuries, but there is genuine competition for that place up front alongside Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
"The more you see of Asensio though, the more you think he is going to be a real world-class player - he is a world-class youngster at the moment, but I think he is going to develop into one of the best players in the world."
Los Blancos face Manchester United in the UEFA Super Cup on Tuesday night and Jose Mourinho is ready to "fight" for Bale's signature if Zidane leaves the 28-year-old out of his squad in Macedona.
"If he is playing tomorrow, it is because he is in the coach's plans and in the club's plans and because he also has that ambition to continue in Real Madrid," said the United manager.
"If he is on his way out of Real Madrid, well, I'll try to be waiting for him on the other side and try to fight with other coaches that would also like to have him on his team."
However, following Mourinho's comments about Bale, a source close to the player told Sky Sports News on Tuesday that the rumours linking him with a move away from Real Madrid are "nonsense".
One player who has left Madrid this summer is striker Alvaro Morata, who joined Chelsea in a deal worth £70m, a move that surprised Gibson.
"I'm surprised they allowed Morata to leave," said Gibson. "In fact, it was rather kind of them rather than keep a player who was not entirely unhappy at the club. He was unhappy that he was not getting more playing time in the big games.
"For them to allow a 24, 25-year-old to leave the club and join Chelsea, who would hope to be rivals with Real Madrid for the Champions League in the future, was rather a kind gesture by Zidane not to hold a player against his will.
"But clearly Zidane sees Benzema as the better option at the moment."
