ROME (AP) -- For Serie A "market watchers," the rumors are flying faster and names coming quicker than ever.
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi will soon close a deal with "one of the top five players in the world"; Juventus wants Brazil's best, Rivaldo; AC Parma is after Yugoslavia's new star Savo Milosevic ... No, wait, it wants Dutch forward Patrick Kluivert instead.
Even the name of David Beckham, Manchester United's franchise for the future, is in circulation in Serie A.
Sparked by Lazio's record-setting purchase of Argentina's Hernan Crespo, the top Italian league squads have launched a mad rush this week to strike deals with the world's top players for fear that the league champions could run away with another title.
Berlusconi, whose "top five" remark on Monday set off a guessing game that included bet that Beckham would come to Milan, Italy's fashion capital, at the urging of his Spice Girl wife, Victoria Adams.
"Among the expectations of the fans, there is also the No. 1 fan, the owner, who hopes to be able to strike a blow by acquiring one of those players who can make the difference," Berlusconi was quoted as saying Thursday in Gazzetta dello Sport in response to the round of rumors.
Another Milan possibility mentioned is Rivaldo, the reigning golden ball winner. Last year's Serie A runner-up Juventus is reportedly also eyeing him.
The flurry of activity follows the announcement Tuesday that Lazio, coming off its first Serie A championship in 26 years, had agreed to pay soccer's all-time high total of 110 billion lire (US$55 million) in cash and player value to AC Parma for Crespo, arguably one of the two best young strikers in the Italian league.
The squad had earlier acquired another Argentine forward, Claudio Lopez, who came over from Championship league runner-up Valencia for a cool 54 billion lire (US$27 million).
Lazio has also come to terms this week with Udinese on a deal that would bring rising Italian midfield stars Stefano Fiore and Giuliano Giannichedda to Rome for the 2001-2002 season.
The services of Dutch standout Boudewijn Zenden, who will reportedly be bought from Barcelona for 24 billion lire (US$12 million), have also been secured by Lazio.
Lazio owner Sergio Cragnotti, according to reports in Thursday's sports dailies, is still not satisfied, and may be pursuing a deal to send Chile's Marcelo Salas and Yugoslavia's Dejan Stankovic to Barcelona for Portuguese star Luis Figo.
Even without Figo, Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson, likes what he sees.
"It was difficult to improve the skill level from last year's group," said Eriksson. "But Cragnotti has done it. Undoubtedly on paper, we are one of the best squads in the world... This is a dream team."
His counterpart in Parma, Alberto Malesani, has no time for dreaming. Though it has pumped up its midfield in the deal with Lazio, acquiring Argentina's Matias Almeyda and Portugal's Sergio Conceicao, Parma must fill the hole up front left by Crespo's departure, with Kluivert and Milosevic, two stars in Euro 2000, at the top of the wish list.
"We will have to replace Crespo," said Malesani. "He isn't just any old player."