David Beckham to Celtic?

this has the potential to be a huge thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


story just out from the early edition of the sunday telegraph courtesy of roddy forsyth...and markobhoy

Celtic could make a swashbuckling bid to lure David Beckham – who is out of contract with Real Madrid next summer – to Parkhead during the January transfer window, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
The former England captain made a rare appearance for Real Madrid on Wednesday in the low-key 1-1 Copa del Rey draw at Ecija, when Fabio Capello, the galacticos' coach, chose to rest his first-choice players. But Beckham has been used mainly as a substitute and recently expressed frustration at the lack of first-team action.
To make matters worse, he strained a thigh muscle against Ecija and was left out of the squad for last night's league game with Gimnastic Tarragona.
Gordon Strachan is aware of the 31-year-old's circumstances – Spanish sources say Beckham would welcome a fresh challenge and that money need not be an obstacle — and if the opportunity arises, the Celtic manager would like nothing better than to follow last year's highprofile acquisition of Roy Keane, Beckham's former team-mate at Old Trafford, with another bold foray into the transfer market.
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"I have David's telephone number," Strachan said last night. "He is a wonderful player who is still very fit and could play at the highest level for another three years. I know he would not go to another club in England."
It is understood, though, that Strachan would countenance only a central midfield role for Beckham in what is proving to be a resurgent Celtic side under the guidance of the former Scottish international.
A big difference between Keane and Beckham is that the former Republic of Ireland captain had already said that he would love to end his playing career at Celtic and was in his latter days as a footballer when he signed.
A hip injury forced Keane's retirement as a player at the end of last season, by which time he had won a championship medal with the Hoops. Strachan could expect much more competition in his pursuit of Beckham than for Keane; the player's business interests, plus his wife's preferences, also make the United States a tempting option.
Even reduced financial terms for Beckham would far exceed Celtic's salary structure, but the club have proved inventive in securing attractive targets who would otherwise have burst their budgetary constraints.
Shunsuke Nakamura, their Japanese international midfielder, is effectively on reserve-team wages, but, thanks to an artful deal involving image rights and other ancillary earnings, he banked more than £4 million last season. Thomas Gravesen, signed to strengthen Celtic for their first automatic entry to the Champions League group stage, made wage demands beyond the resources of several Premiership clubs, but was secured in a deal which Peter Lawwell, the Parkhead chief executive, said ''did not breach our salary policy".
Brian Quinn, Celtic's chairman, said at the club's AGM on Thursday: "The way things are going we should have some ability in the transfer window in January to strengthen the team further. We've made good progress, but we'll continue to strengthen."
Real Madrid still nurture hopes, publicly at least, that Beckham will sign a two-year extension to his current deal. "I believe he is going to stay. I am almost certain," Ramon Calderon, Real Madrid's president, said on Friday. However, Calderon's utterances are at odds with Capello's actions. And while a home in Scotland has never featured on Victoria Beckham's wish-list, sources close to her husband say he is still keen to make an impact in the game.
Strachan, meanwhile, can make history with Celtic if they take anything from Wednesday's Champions League game with Benfica in Lisbon. A 3-0 win when they met in Glasgow two weeks ago opened a five-point gap in favour of the Scottish champions. If they keep or add to their advantage going into the final two Group H games, Celtic will almost certainly qualify for the last 16 for the first time and take their earnings to between £12 and £15 million

 

In your obvious excitement marko, you missed the thread about Beckham in the celtic chat section