The Offside Daily: Guardiola for England? Is Mario Balotelli a changed man? Manchester United’s Latin pursuits

Only the news you need – bringing you five mainstream and five off-the-wall news stories each day

1. Amidst intense speculation regarding his future once his contract runs out at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola walked out of a press conference earlier this afternoon after seemingly becoming annoyed with questions linking him to the England job.

2. Having been perceived as idly waiting until deadline day to splash a bucket load of cash on Anthony Martial, Brazil stars Neymar and Alexandre Pato have today revealed that they both had discussions or received offers from Manchester United at various points of the transfer window.

3. AC MIilan captain Ricardo Montolivo has said that the jury is still out on Mario Balotelli and whether or not he has changed, with the central midfielder adding that it will take until Christmas to see whether the flamboyant striker has actually changed his ways.

4. West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Ben Foster will be out until December following a setback with the knee injury that he suffered at the start of this year.

5. Former Newcastle United player Steve Howey has suggested that the idea of sacking Steve McLaren is ridiculous and that he has to be given a proper chance to make his mark in the role.

6. Saido Berahino is proving the fickle nature of football fans after it appears he has been forgiven since making a goalscoring return to West Brom (The BBC).

7. Sometimes an agent is more powerful than the client, which is certainly the case with some players under Jorge Mendes, the 2nd most powerful sport agent in the World according to Forbes (Forbes).

8. Hull City’s Curtis Davies has come to the defence of Swansea going onto twitter to say the scratches on his face weren’t done via malice, just part of the game (Twitter).

9. In an unusual twist Per Mertesacker has been introduced on TV under a slightly different name than he is used to using (The Metro).

10. Gremio defender Douglas appears to have been caught short on the pitch before his side faced off with Fluminense (Bleacher Report).

By Julian Myles