Spanish ref Manuel Mejuto Gonzalez is set to make Premiership history.

The Sun says Gonzalez is set to become the first foreigner to referee a domestic football match in England. He has been invited to ply his trade in the Premier League next season.

The 44-year-old, who has refereed in Spain's La Liga for the past 15 years, is one of the top officials in world football.

He was the man in the middle of Liverpool's epic Champions League final shootout win over AC Milan in 2005 and is generally regarded as the most experienced referee in Europe.

By the end of this season he will have reached 45, the maximum age allowed to take charge of a game in his own country, and will have to retire. But the statutory retirement age for refs in England is 49 - the highest of any country in UEFA.