CNN confirmed with David Beckham’s agent today that the Galaxy midfielder will head to Italy’s AC Milan on a two-month loan in the wake of the club’s tour Down Under after the MLS season concludes so he can retain his fitness for England.

It does not sound like he’s going to miss much, if any, of the MLS preseason, according to this quote in England’s Daily Mail from Beckham agent Simon Oliveira:

“Nothing is confirmed yet, but the intention is to go to AC Milan on loan for January and February. He would be going there with the view to keeping fit and being available for selection for England.

“The idea is he then goes back to the Galaxy to join up with their pre-season in March. He will not be joining AC Milan permanently. He had a five-year contract with the Galaxy
and has three years left and every intention of fulfilling that.”

AC Milan are currently sitting fifth in the league.

Updated 10:28 a.m. Got off the phone a few minutes ago with the Galaxy PR folks who tell me his Beckhamness will not be addressing the media on the issue after training today (he usually only deigns to speak to reporters once a week). We’ll see. But that would be par for the course: a global news story, Beckham in our back yard and he’s not talking.

In other Beckham-related news, he’s agreed to do his bit for England’s 2018 World Cup bid.

Speaking of the World Cup, there’s much gnashing of teeth south of the border over Mexico’s World Cup qualifying status – or lack thereof.

Finally, this just in from the “I live in a glass house” department – North Korean nutjob Kim Jong Il is not at all pleased with the nation’s hairy soccer players.

Because, of course, that rich, famine-free and non-authoritarian nation doesn’t have more pressing issues than a “follicular clampdown”.