£18 million Ferdinand to have Leeds medical tomorrow

Leeds United will send England centre back Rio Ferdinand for a medical tomorrow before sealing a world record £18 million transfer deal for a defender.

Ferdinand has signed for the Premiership club but the deal still depends on passing medical tests tomorrow morning which are regarded as a formality according to the player's agent Pina Zahavi.

Talks were completed yesterday to agree personal terms on a five and a half year contract for the 22 year old worth nearly £10 million.

Leeds have failed in two bids for the West Ham star already this season with £12 million and £15 million offers failing to tempt the London club to sell their main asset.

Now Leeds - who lost 1-0 at home to West Ham on Saturday - have signed their number one transfer target as they try to strengthen their Champions League squad.

West Ham valued Ferdinand at £18 million and hinted that a foreign bid from FC Barcelona or Bayern Munich could succeed as they did not want to see Ferdinand go to a Premiership rival.

With transfer deals in Europe stalling as the EU and FIFA discuss the status of the entire transfer system which EU commissioner Mario Monti wants to ban as restrictive and anti-competitive, big money transfers could be rarer in future with West Ham risking a collapse in the transfer value for their international star. This pushed through the deal once Leeds decided to raise their offer to the level West Ham wanted to see before talks could start. The offer was agreed on Tuesday night and then a series of meetings in the London's West End yesterday carried Ferdinand and Zahavi through the terms being offered by Leeds.

Ferdinand now becomes one of the highest earners in the Premiership but a move to Italy or Spain could have seen him earn even more. Leeds have been anxious to present the player with terms which will be hard to beat under any new transfer system where length of contract is the major area of dispute still between the football governors and the RU.

Long regarded as one of the best young prospects in Europe, the player has found it hard to establish himself in the national team under Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan as both coaches favoured 4-42 which left no place for the sweeper.

Ferdinand gave a reasonably assured performance for England against Italy last week and is regarded as a certainty in future international matches if England stick with five defenders.

West Ham introduced the Peckham-born player since the age of 17 into their first team and he has played a variety of positions. Many English clubs were linked with Ferdinand who signed a new West Ham contract last year to increase his earnings and AC Milan also showed interest earlier this year after he impressed Franco Baresi with one of his many outings for the under-21 team.

Leeds were outclassed by European champions Real Madrid on Wednesday night in the second stage of their Champions League campaign but have £30 million to spend on new players despite doubts over the transfer systems's future which have frozen new signings by Arsenal and Manchester United. The club have been linked with Kevin Phillips of Sunderland and O'Leary has taken his spending past the £50 million mark since taking over as manager two years ago.

This sort of expenditure needs Leeds to deliver success on the pitch although major stars like Ferdinand and winger Harry Kewell can boost marketing and advertising revenue.

O'Leary has also developed the strange habit of claiming he has no money to spend and continually harps on about the youth of his players. It is now time for the club to win its first trophy for eight years after the money made available to O'Leary but they remain some distance behind Manchester United in the league as all English clubs do and ran into an exceptional display by Real earlier this week.

Leeds hope to have Ferdinand available for the visit of Arsenal on Sunday afternoon in the Premiership but despite their massive expenditure the club and the London contenders are fighting over Champions League places behind United rather than the title itself.