Aston Villa's former AC Milan defender Martin Laursen has backed his old club's move for LA Galaxy midfielder David Beckham.

Laursen, who won the Champions League during a three-year spell with Milan before joining Villa, said: "I think David Beckham is still a very good player. He stills feels fit and he has got ambitions to play for England.

"He is a player that really loves his football and he wants to play as long as he can. I am sure he loves his country, is proud of playing for England and, for me, the move to AC Milan is not that big a surprise if he wants to come back to Europe and play.

"AC Milan is a club that can bring in these big names. We have seen that before with Ronaldinho and Ronaldo and, when I was there, Rivaldo came.

"I can mention so many big, big names. They have the money to do that and Beckham is still a very good footballer and I am sure he is going to do fine."

Laursen added: "The pace is not as demanding in Serie A as it is in England and Beckham has still got a very good right foot, puts in good crosses, works hard, loves his football.

"AC Milan will get a lot of attention with signing Beckham and they like that. Serie A is also not as demanding physically as the Premier League. I think he is going to be fine.

"Milan is also a place where there are a lot of big names, so Beckham is not going to be the only one, and Milan as a city is a place where you can walk around.

"There are other big celebrities in the city. Posh (Beckham's wife Victoria) is going to love it. It is a great place to do shopping."