FORTY-EIGHT hours after he learnt Steve McClaren no longer counts him among the top 30 footballers available for England, David Beckham will find out tonight if his form has made him second, third or fourth choice for a wide midfield position at Real Madrid.

Beckham started, finished and scored in last Thursday’s 5-1 win against third division Ecija in the Copa del Rey, although the return of Raul, Guti and Antonio Cassano to the party that travelled to Pamplona to play Osasuna means a revised pecking order and Beckham has been on the bench for league games for the past six weeks.

As for his long-term future at Madrid, yesterday’s comments by president Ramon Calderon suggested an imminent overhaul in the club’s strategy. Calderon promised supporters “three or four new younger players with unparalleled profile in world football”. And in January, too. The team, fifth in La Liga following Sunday’s home defeat against Celta Vigo, “needed revitalising”, the president added.

Although Calderon has publicly stated he wants Beckham, 31, to extend a contract that expires in June, talks are not progressing and the former England captain has made it clear he wants to feel closer to a regular first-team place. He has been given 90 minutes just twice this season by coach Fabio Capello. He is one of the club’s highest earners and Madrid appear more inclined to test Beckham’s determination to renew his deal at terms equal to or greater than his present contract, which earns him a basic €6m (£4m), and cedes a proportion of his income from personal endorsements to the club.

Capello says he is pleased with Beckham’s attitude and fitness but the prediction the Madrid coach made on these pages four weeks ago — “over the coming month he’ll be starting a lot of games” — has so far been realised in one Cup tie. Capello has tended to select either his captain Raul in a wide right berth or used Jose Antonio Reyes. Robinho is also in vogue.

Beckham is popular with the crowd, although among the local sports press there is some impatience with the contract renewal story becoming a saga. “All the reasons the club ever give for renewing it are to do with the fabulous marketing and exploitation of image rights,” wrote Marca columnist Roberto Palomar. “In other words they could renew the contract of a David Beckham double, say nothing to anybody, and parade him round airports and hotels until someone sharp cottoned on. Maybe it would be better to act honestly now, renounce the cash Blondie generates and tell it straight: David Beckham is not good enough for Real Madrid.”

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