Rome - AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has said that his club is close to convincing Los Angeles Galaxy to switch the loan deal of English veteran David Beckham to full ownership, Italian media reported Thursday.

"Some important and concrete steps forward have been made with Galaxy to complete the buying of Beckham," Galliani was quoted as saying.

The 33-year-old England midfielder is due back to the US club on March 8, but the perfect way he has fitted in at Milan has convinced both him and the Serie A club to convert the loan into a transfer deal.

Milan manager Umberto Gandini is expected to fly to California next week to wrap up a deal that was rumoured to be closed Friday. The two clubs are said to have settled for a transfer fee of 10 million euros (12.6 million dollars). (dpa)