Gareth Bale Will Be Less Effective for Real Madrid in Prospective Deeper Role

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has something of a problem at the Bernabeu, namely how to integrate the wealth of attacking talent he has at his disposal into a balanced team.

The Madrid outfit made the marquee signings of James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos over the summer while seeing Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso depart.

The problem is that it was the departed pair who truly made Ancelotti's 4-3-3 formation work last term, adding vital balance which allowed Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to flourish in attack, per Goal.com's Ben Hayward:

It was Bale's arrival last summer that saw Di Maria drop deeper to allow the former Tottenham Hotspur man to play in the front three.

The Argentinian excelled in the position, but after his departure—and the arrival of Rodriguez—Ancelotti is reportedly set to move Bale deeper to keep last season's shape, per Marca (h/t 101 Great Goals):

Rodriguez is unlikely to be able to take up the position himself—he is not a direct replacement for Di Maria—thus Bale's move does seem to be the best way for Ancelotti to accommodate all his stars into a familiar formation.

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However, the Welshman's effectiveness will be lessened if he is indeed moved to the left of a midfield three with Kroos and Luka Modric.

As Spanish football journalist Lee Roden points out, the move would be somewhat counter-productive after Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema were so devastating in attack last term: 

Bale excelled last season, scoring 15 league goals and six in the triumphant Champions League campaign, per Squawka.

His goal-return would most certainly be reduced playing in a deeper role, and Ancelotti would have to rely on Rodriguez to make up for that. A comparison in Di Maria and Bale's stats from last season indicates how the Welshman may be affected in terms of finding the back of the net, per WhoScored.com:

While Di Maria provided more assists than Bale, his goal-scoring was far less prolific in a deeper role. Considering Bale's ability to score goals is one of his best assets, it would seemingly be strange to move him back.

The other concern is whether Bale can excel in the same way as Di Maria did in a midfield three. While the two players have a similar skill set, what made the Argentinian so effective in the position was his stamina and work-rate, per La Liga writer Andy West:

Bale is unlikely to fulfil this requirement as Di Maria did, which is likely to affect the Madrid defence more than attack.

There is no doubting Bale's prowess bombing forward, but what Di Maria was so adept at was protecting the left-back at the same time as contributing to attacks.

The possibility that Real's midfield could be weaker with Kroos and Bale instead of Di Maria and Alonso is genuine.

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If it does turn out to be the case, club president Florentino Perez's transfer policy will come under serious scrutiny.

Hence, all at Madrid will be hoping that Rodriguez can prove even better alongside Ronaldo and Benzema than Bale was last season—quite a task.

But, even then, Bale will prove less effective if he is forced to play deeper in midfield, and through no fault of his own.

The 25-year-old has become a true attacking star and surely did enough last season to continue in that position.

However, circumstances have conspired against him and he will likely have to play a different role in the coming months and be less influential because of it.