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Manchester United say they are confident of securing the future of David Beckham at the club after a second round of discussions with the England captain's representatives. The Old Trafford club confirmed that contract talks had been held with the SFX agency today - and that a further meeting should seal Beckham's new contract with the Premiership champions by the end of July. United's director of communications Paddy Harverson said: 'The first preliminary discussions were held just before the FA Cup final in London. Today's meeting was the first detailed contract discussions. 'Another meeting has been scheduled for before the end of the month. Talks are progressing well and satisfactorily and Manchester United remain confident of completing the process of securing all its players on new contracts before the end of the season.' Beckham, 26, has two years left on his current deal, which is worth around £28,000-a-week. United are anxious to agree a new deal now as part of their on-going process of tying up their best players on long-term contracts. Beckham, who has said all along that he wants to stay at Old Trafford despite strong interest from home and abroad, can expect a huge hike in his wages. He will be offered a deal which will put him at least on a par with Roy Keane, who is currently the club's top earner on a gross weekly wage of £75,000. Meanwhile, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping to sign a new goalkeeper as back-up for France international Fabien Barthez. Second-choice Raimond van der Gouw is now 38 years old and, as 20-year-old Paul Rachubka has been used reluctantly, Ferguson is targetting a new recruit. 'I've got three or four different names I'm considering and we could sort something out in the next week,' he said. Confirmation is expected imminently that United have completed the signing of Juan Veron from Lazio for a reported British record fee of £23.5million. Lazio are anxious to conclude the deal after making an official £30.5million bid for Barcelona's Rivaldo.
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