Madrid ready to sell Beckham

Real Madrid are preparing to sell former England captain David Beckham for £5million in January's transfer window, reports in Spain suggest.

The 31-year-old midfielder cannot hold down a starting spot for the Galacticos under new coach Fabio Capello.

And with Beckham refusing to pen a new contract at the Bernabeu until he is guaranteed regular first-team football, the Spanish giants may offload him in January to stop him leaving for nothing next summer.

Real bought Beckham from Manchester United for £25million in 2003, but it seems certain he has no future under Capello as the former Roma boss yesterday insisted he had handled the player's situation correctly.

Beckham has started just four games under the new regime and played only 13 minutes of Sunday's 'el clasico' victory over Barcelona.

He has previously stated he is not interested in a return to England, but Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder admits he would be at the front of a queue of clubs who would welcome him with open arms.

He said: "I think a lot of clubs in the Premiership would like to have David Beckham.

"I think if he came back, bearing in mind he said he will never play in the Premiership again, any team lucky enough to secure his services - their supporters will enjoy watching him play."

Beckham has been strongly linked with a move to America's MLS - but a return to England's top tier would arguably give his chances of a return to the national fold under Steve McClaren a shot in the arm.