Vicente del Bosque hails Marco Asensio

Head coach Vicente Del Bosque of Spain faces the media during a press conference ahead of their international friendly match against Bolivia at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on May 29, 2014
© Getty Images
Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque says that Real Madrid youngster Marco Asensio is "the biggest talent in Spain" and admits that he almost picked him for Euro 2016.

Former Spain boss Vicente del Bosque has claimed that Real Madrid youngster Marco Asensio is "the biggest talent in Spain".

The 20-year-old joined Real Madrid from Mallorca in 2014, but has still not represented Los Blancos after a loan spell at his former club and a season-long loan at Espanyol last term.

It had been thought that Asensio would also spend the 2016-17 campaign out on loan, but his 10 assists and four goals in 34 La Liga appearances last season are believed to have convinced Zinedine Zidane to make the midfielder part of his first-team plans for the new season.

Asensio, who signed a six-year contract at Real Madrid in December 2014, made his Spain debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina before Euro 2016, and Del Bosque has revealed that he almost took the midfielder to France.

"We were about to take him to the Euros but in the end we decided not to because the competition was so big. He's the biggest talent in Spain. He has a lot of quality, but it's not my decision if he's in the Madrid first team," AS quotes Del Bosque as saying.

Asensio was given a second-half run-out as Real Madrid lost 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain in the International Champions Cup on Wednesday night.

Zinedine Zidane looks on during the UEFA Champions League match between AS Roma and Real Madrid on February 17, 2016
Read Next:
Zidane 'content' despite PSG defeat
>

CountryGoldGSilverSBronzeBTotal
1 AfghanistanAfghanistan0000
1 Albania national flagAlbania0000
1 AlgeriaAlgeria 0000
1 Great BritainGreat Britain0000
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1AlavesAlaves00000000
2Athletic Bilbao00000000
3Atletico MadridAtletico00000000
4Barcelona00000000
5Celta Vigo00000000
6Deportivo La CorunaDeportivo00000000
7EibarEibar00000000
8Espanyol00000000
9Granada00000000
10Las PalmasLas Palmas00000000
11Leganes00000000
12Malaga00000000
13Osasuna00000000
14Real Betis00000000
15Real Madrid00000000
16Real Sociedad00000000
17Sevilla00000000
18Sporting GijonSporting Gijon00000000
19Valencia00000000
20Villarreal00000000