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Beckham limped out of the Milan derby.

Beckham is less than halfway through a five-year contract with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy franchise, but is currently on loan to the Serie A giants and has said he wants to remain in Italy permanently.

The MLS set a deadline of last Friday for an agreement to be reached for the 33-year-old to complete a full transfer, but with no deal done, the Galaxy have insisted that Beckham should return to L.A. for pre-season training on March 9 as per the terms of his two-month loan deal.

However, Milan are still confident of reaching a deal and talks are expected to resume later this week.

"There is still a bit of distance but Friday could be the decisive day for Beckham," Galliani told reporters as Milan flew out for Wednesday's UEFA Cup clash at Werder Bremen. Beckham, who has recovered from a minor hamstring injury, travelled with the Milan squad.

Galliani added: ''We are negotiating and trying to resolve the problem. Between our offer and their (the Galaxy's) request there is still a margin but the will of the player is to remain. We will have to wait and see how this situation develops - there is still time.''

Various figures have been bandied about in the media after Milan's opening offer of 5m ($6.3m) was turned down. Milan-based sports paper Gazzetta dello Sport report that the Galaxy want 10m - double what the Serie A club has offered to date.

Beckham, who has impressed during his performances in Serie A - scoring twice and setting up two goals - does not believe Sunday's 2-1 defeat in the Milan derby will hurt his chances of a permanent transfer despite the loss leaving the Rossoneri 11 points behind Inter Milan in third place in the standings.

''I am disappointed because our hopes of winning the Scudetto are truly minimal,'' said Beckham. ''But this doesn't alter our plans. I know that Milan want me until the end of the season.''