AC Milan Confident Of Beckham Switch

DAVID Beckham's negotiations to join AC Milan on loan in January are "going really well," according to the Italian club's technical director, Leonardo.

Beckham, 33, hopes that a short-term deal will help him stay fit for England duty, with Los Angeles Galaxy's Major League Soccer season ending this weekend. Leonardo told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I think it is a real possibility for us."

Beckham's agent, Simon Oliveira, and MLS commissioner, Don Garber, have stressed that any move would only be for two months. According to Oliveira, "nothing is confirmed yet, but the intention is to go to AC Milan on loan for January and February.

"He would be going there with the view to keeping fit and being available for selection for England. The idea is he then goes back to Galaxy to join up with their pre-season in March. He will not be joining AC Milan permanently. He had a five-year contract with Galaxy and has three years left and every intention of fulfilling that."

Garber confirmed that discussions have taken place between Milan and Galaxy over the possibility of a short-term loan agreement, though the news came as a surprise to Galaxy general manager and head coach, Bruce Arena, who said: "On the surface, it sounds like an odd proposition. I don't see where that benefits MLS or the Galaxy. "I would think the position that the Galaxy are in, that we're rebuilding our team and trying to have a successful year, it would seem very odd to me to be loaning out our top players."