Here is a roundup of the top Manchester United news and gossip that we think you guys could have missed today –

Almost 60,000 fans have now signed a petition calling on the Bayern Munich bosses to keep Manchester United linked Mattijs de Ligt.

The 25-year-old has struggled for game time at Bayern Munich this season and that has led to alot of speculation in the media suggesting that Bayern may be open to the idea of letting him leave this January window.

Premier League clubs such as Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea have all been linked with a move for the Dutch defender over the past few months, but were recently knocked back after former boss Thomas Tuchel revealed that the big man would no be leaving in the winter window.

However – the Sky Sports Germany have claimed that Bayern may be open to letting De Ligt leave the club this transfer window – when they will have more of an opportunity to find an immediate replacement for the Dutchman.

However – The petition states that “he is a world-class defender, probably the best in our squad” and has “a long and promising future ahead of him”.

The defender is also praised for his “admirable maturity and mentality”. De Ligt is a target for Manchester United this summer.

The Netherlands centre-back – part of the squad that will play England in the Euros semi-final on Wednesday – was in competition with Dayot Upemecano and Min-jae Kim for a spot last season.

Bayern have already signed one new centre-back in Hiroki Ito from Stuttgart and they are in talks with Bayer Leverkusen about signing Jonathan Tah.

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It is no secret that United need to sign a new defender as Rafa Varane has left the club – and De Ligt could be an ideal signing.

He is young enough to be handed a massive contract by Manchester United and he is talented enough to be a brilliant addition to the squad – so he is certainly the type of player that the Red Devils board would love to sign.

Bayerns loss would be United’s gain that is for sure.

ZIRKZEE UPDATE – 

Manchester United have informed Bologna that they are ready to trigger Joshua Zirkzee’s €40 million (£33.7m) release clause, according to reports in Italy.

Manchester United really struggled for goals last season and it almost cost Erik Ten Hag his job at Old Trafford – but that stunning FA Cup win kept him in his role as boss of the Red Devils.

Zirkzee scored 12 goals in all competitions last season and provided seven assists and his performances for the Italian giants has led to alot of speculation that a number of clubs are very interested in getting a transfer deal done.

Zirkzee who has a £34million release clause had been targeted by Italian giants AC Milan who were deemed the frontrunners to recruit the 23-year-old.

But according to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the transfer has stalled with Milan amid hefty agent demands – And new reports from Italy suggest Manchester United are now the favourites to land Zirkzee but will have to wait until after Euro 2024 to finalise any deal.

Now Sky Sports Italy report that United are opting to trigger Zirkzee’s clause and have formally notified Bologna of their decision.

United have also agreed to pay an additional €15m (£12.6m) in commission fees which held up the deal with AC Milan last month

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There has bene so much hype surrounding the young man and he could be a decent signing for the club – but Man United would not be signing a striker that has the ability to score 30 goals a season – not yet.

FANS SIGN PETITION – 

Manchester United should pull out of the race for Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt and sign a Premier League star instead.

Over the past few weeks there has been alot of transfer speculation in the media that Man United are closing in on a deal for De Ligt after the decision was made by Bayern Munich to allow him to leave the club this summer.

It has also been claimed that the Dutchman is keen on a move to Old Trafford – to work with Erik Ten Hag – and it has also been claimed that Man United are prepared to pay £43 million in order to get a transfer deal done.

However – despite all the reports former Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson has doubts over De Ligt and says Manchester United should instead be doing everything they can to sign Jarrad Branthwaite from Everton.

Branthwaite is another player that Man United have been linked with over the past few months after an impressive season from Everton – but his massive £80 million asking price has become a bit of an issue between both club.

‘Matthijs de Ligt is a good player, but when I look at Manchester United, I feel like they need a player who knows the Premier League,’ Thompson told Paddy Power.

‘They had Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, and he didn’t work out, so if you have de Ligt coming into the side, he might take a little bit of time to settle, which is something that United can’t afford to do.

‘Jarrad Branthwaite is a top class player and he’s going to be a future England international. I think he’s a top player and if I was in Manchester United’s position, he would be someone I would go for.