Speed's slow road to Everton

Football

Football

Speed's slow road to Everton

Gary Speed will return from honeymoon in America in two weeks and is expected to become an Everton player. The Everton chairman, Peter Johnson, and the Leeds managing director, Bill Fotherby, are believed to have agreed a fee of pounds 3.5m for the 26-year-old midfielder. The Everton manager, Joe Royle, said: "I can confirm that the framework of a deal is in place. The slight complication is that he is out of the country at the moment. There will be a slight delay in the process while we wait for him to return but I am optimistic about the outcome." Meanwhile in Europe, Atletico Madrid won their first league title for 19 years by defeating Albacete 2-0 to win the Spanish first division championship. The result gave Atletico its first ever double following the team's Spanish King's Cup victory last month against Barcelona. In Germany, a goal three minutes before half-time from Martin Wagner ensured that relegated Kaiserslautern beat Karlsruhe to win the German Cup.