[Warchant]

MILAN, Italy (AP) - AC Milan plans to meet with David Beckham's agents to see if the former England captain can get out of his contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy and stay with the Serie A club.

"If Beckham reaches an agreement with the Galaxy, we are prepared to pay a fee," Milan vice president Adriano Galliani said Tuesday. "We will meet with his representatives in the next few days."

Beckham is on a two-month loan from the Galaxy and is due to return to Major League Soccer on March 9.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player scored his first goal for Milan in Sunday's 4-1 victory over Bologna.

"If he decides to free himself and wants to (stay), we will welcome him with open arms, but he belongs to another club and we've got to thank them because they were very kind with us," Galliani said, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport Web site.

"On March 9, his contract (with Milan) is up and we don't want to slight anyone. (Beckham) wants to stay with us, but he also knows that he has to go back to America."

Beckham has started all three of Milan's matches since he arrived, and the Rossoneri have beaten AS Roma, Fiorentina and Bologna.

England coach Fabio Capello will attend Milan's match against Genoa on Wednesday to assess Beckham's form.

"Barring any unforeseen changes in his schedule, he will be at the San Siro," Capello's son and manager, Pierfilippo, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Beckham is hoping to be called up by Capello for a friendly against Spain on Feb. 11 and equal Bobby Moore's record of 108 England appearances for an outfield player.

"Beckham wrote me a message after the Bologna game," Capello's assistant, Franco Baldini, told the Gazzetta. "He was happy about the goal and I told him he's got to continue this way."

Beckham's ultimate goal is to make England's team for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

[Jack Sparrow]

Well Ro, coz I think next season Milan will be desperate, really desperate to chase that CL. It's become a prestige issue. And Becks being here is important, because I think we're 'actually' going to compete on two fronts. There's a lot more movement happening in the primavera than in previous seasons as well, so a few might be getting counted upon to make a jump.

Beckham has been great for us. I'm really being impressed with his link up with Pirlo. In fact there was a pretty good article on goal.com. Besides the quality of the writing it had a few good points.

A brilliant David Beckham dragged Milan back into Scudetto contention during the 3-0 win at Lazio, while Juventus’ and Ricardo Quaresma’s problems continued. Carlo Garganese analyses the weekend’s Serie A action…


These are not necessarily my thoughts, but when Fabio Caressa, the famous Italian football commentating expert, describes David Beckham as “one of the best midfielders in world football currently”, you sit up and take notice.

There can be few who predicted Beckham to have such a stunning impact on Serie A. Even Adriano Galliani, who loves to grinningly boast about how he “told everyone so, and they didn’t want to listen”, surely did not dream up a better beginning.

Beckham’s performance against Lazio last night was nothing short of sensational. It was world class. ‘Golden Balls’ provided the assists for the first two goals of Pato and Massimo Ambrosini, he created another disallowed Pato effort, while he also put Kaka clean through on goal when the Brazilian hit the post.

Beckham has never been a classical playmaker during his career, but last night he was exactly that. The 33-year-old did not relinquish the ball all evening long, and his short, long and, in particular, his mid-range passing was out of this world. Everything he touched turned to ‘gold’. His confidence shone through when he attempted the old Beckham-Scholes corner routine with Andrea Pirlo, a player he is forging a fine understanding with in midfield.

I must confess that I was initially puzzled as to just how Beckham could fit into this Milan line-up, but the balance he has helped bring, not only to the midfield but the team as a whole, has seen the Rossoneri flourish. Pirlo is now back to his best again, there is width down the right, and Beckham has also, somewhat surprisingly, established tactical and defensive stability. Milan should be doing everything in their power to ensure the ex-Real Madrid man makes his loan move permanent, while England and Fabio Capello should be exerting their influence too because this is a re-born Beckham.

Milan are undoubtedly the form team in Italy at the moment, and if they continue as they are, they will surely challenge for the Scudetto, even if they do still trail leaders Inter by six points.

The Nerazzurri are not playing at all well in 2009, and this was confirmed yesterday afternoon when they had to come from behind just to earn a 1-1 home draw against struggling Torino. The team is really missing a touch of fantasy and creativity in midfield, and Jose Mourinho seems to have as good as given up on his two big summer signings – Amantino Mancini and Ricardo Quaresma – who were supposed to bring the squad exactly that.

Quaresma, who is surely up there with the worst transfer flops of all time, has even been left off the Champions League squad list, fuelling rumours that he will join Tottenham Hotspur on-loan today, in a strange swap deal involving the rather ‘ordinary’ Jermaine Jenas.

Juventus, meanwhile, are in a mini-crisis, and have dropped down to third after a shocking 3-2 home defeat against Cagliari. Like Inter, the Bianconeri are in desperate need of a midfield playmaker. Every man and his dog cried out for Alessio Secco to sign one last summer but, instead, the much-maligned director opted for Christian Poulsen who, so far, has also been a resounding failure.

The Juventus defence is starting to look increasingly vulnerable when up against pacy forward lines. Last Wednesday, Antonio Di Natale and Fabio Quagliarella caused all kinds of problems as Udinese won 2-1 at the Stadio Friuli, while on Saturday evening it was Cagliari’s Jeda and Alessandro Matri who did the damage. With Giorgio Chiellini ruled out for a month, and possibly missing the big Champions League tie against Chelsea, most Juve fans will have more than a few reasons to worry.

A special mention must go out to Cagliari though, who have won four on the trot in Serie A to move up to seventh in the table, just six points off a Champions League place. The islanders have put a combined seven past Juventus and Lazio away, while they started 2009 with a 1-1 draw at Inter, a game they should have won. This is a side who lost their first five games of the season, something that makes their current standing even more miraculous. Brazilian forward Jeda is possibly the most in-form player in Italy at present.

Genoa tightened their grip on fourth place with a late win over Palermo, while Roma and Napoli faltered as they drew 2-2 against Reggina and Udinese respectively. Fiorentina, whose match at Bologna was postponed yesterday due to snow, will try again this afternoon to close to within two points of the final Champions League slot.

With the transfer deadline closing on Monday at 1900 CET, it remains to be seen what last minute deals will be conjured up. One thing is for sure though, and that is David Beckham has been the signing of the January transfer window so far…

I have to agree. We all talked about how important it was that the stress be taken off Kaka, and so R80 and Pato have done that to an extent. But we seem to forget how important it is to free Pirlo up a little bit. Pirlo's been Milan's heart beat for some time now, and to shackle Pirlo would automatically put pressure on Kaka. Now Becks being there really frees things up.

Also liked seeing Flamini play in the centre. I don't think it's too much of a sacrifice to have him play there. It was too much to expect him to take on Rino's role in the right, even though he's Flattusso (sounds like flatulence don't it? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) ). But if Flamini plays in the centre, I'm not sure if we can deal with wingers as effectively. But that's another discussion.

I think Becks can give us another 2-3 years. So 10 million seems fair. Especially with the bonuses he'll bring.

But we must realise that he's due for a dip in form. Within 2 months of him becoming a staple in our side, they'll have counter tactics. To which we will have the awesomness of R80. Doesn't it feel good to have real options in our side. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) It's been 3 long years.