Former Wales captain Simon Davies has claimed that Gareth Bale is destined to wear his country's armband following the 29-year-old's resurgence at Real Madrid.

Bale appeared to be heading towards the exit door at the Bernabeu in the summer despite scoring twice in Real's Champions League final victory against Liverpool in May.

However, manager Zinedine Zidane and teammate Cristiano Ronaldo ended up leaving and Bale has since played a pivotal part under new boss Julen Lopetegui, scoring in Real's opening two La Liga wins.

"It's funny how it's all worked out for Gareth," Davies told the Daily Post. "The middle of last season he was struggling with injury and Ronaldo was always the main man.

"Then he scores those goals in the Champions League final, Ronaldo leaves, and now he's the main man. So he's probably got what he's always wanted there and he's embracing it. As long as he stays fit he'll go on and have a great season.

"Gareth is definitely a leader. You can just see he loves playing for Wales, and never misses a game if he's not injured. When [current captain Ashley Williams] decides to call it a day I can't see anyone taking over other than Gareth."

Wales boss Ryan Giggs names his squad for the inaugural UEFA Nations League qualifiers against the Republic of Ireland and Denmark on Wednesday.