BBC
Arsenal are expected to revive their interest in Aston Villa's 25-year-old Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer. (Football Insider)
Fulham have identified Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah, 24, as a potential replacement for fellow English centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo, 26, who is expected to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season. (Teamtalk)
Manchester United have switched their attention to Nice's 24-year-old France defender Jean-Clair Todibo after being put off by the price tag of Everton's 21-year-old English centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite. (Teamtalk)
England winger Jadon Sancho, 24, would be open to restarting his Manchester United career and returning to the club if manager Erik ten Hag leaves. (i news)
United want to sell Brazil winger Antony, 24, this summer. (Rudy Galetti)
Bayer Leverkusen have put a 150m euro (£128m) price tag on 20-year-old German attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz amid interest from Barcelona and Real Madrid. (Radio Marca via Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)
Tottenham are hoping to extend the loan of Germany and RB Leipzig winger Timo Werner, 28, rather than triggering their option-to-buy clause in the existing deal. (HITC)
Arsenal and Liverpool are interested in Ecuador centre-back Willian Pacho, 22, who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt. (Florian Plettenberg)
Arsenal will make English striker Eddie Nketiah, 24, available for transfer this summer but will ask for £40m. (HITC)
Tottenham are considering a move for Shakhtar Donetsk and Ukraine midfielder Giorgi Sudakov, 21. (Caught Offside)
Spurs will listen to offers for 23-year-old Spain winger Bryan Gil in the summer. (Football Insider)
Newcastle have renewed their interested in Nottingham Forest's English midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 24. (Football Insider)
Liverpool are set to appoint David Woodfine as assistant sporting director to Richard Hughes, as he returns to Anfield less than a year after leaving the club. (Liverpool Echo)
Manchester United will open talks with 18-year-old England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo over a new contract this summer. (Sun)
Everton are keen to extend England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin's contract, 27, which runs out at the end of next season. (Football Insider)
Wrexham want to turn 22-year-old English goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo's loan from Arsenal into a permanent deal. (The Athletic - subscription required)
Juventus will listen to offers for Italian forward Federico Chiesa, who has been linked with Liverpool and Newcastle, after disagreements between the 26-year-old and boss Massimiliano Allegri over his role. (Tuttosport - in Italian)
Sky Paper Talk
THE DAILY MAIL
A scout from Manchester United was in Porto Alegre last week to run the rule over Gremio left winger Gustavo Nunes, one of the latest rising stars to come out of Brazil.
Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock will not play again this season after a decision was taken to allow his troublesome Achilles a period of rest.
Sergino Dest has revealed talks are under way to turn his loan move from Barcelona to PSV Eindhoven into a permanent deal worth around £9m.
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Erling Haaland has leveraged his trademark long blonde hair by buying a stake in his favourite Norwegian hair-tie company which sells the signature accessory that has secured the striker's man-bun in place since his days at Borussia Dortmund.
Nicolas Jackson is determined to finish his first season at Chelsea on a high and will not risk that by repeating the penalty row that took the shine off another encouraging personal performance from the striker against Everton.
European Professional Club Rugby is desperate to separate its Champions Cup knockout phases to avoid a repeat of the Bulls' selection controversy that damaged the credibility of its showpiece competition.
More than three-quarters of respondents in a survey of female athletes said they wanted categories by sex at birth rather than gender identification in contact and endurance sports.
Chris Froome's Israel Premier-Tech team could face protests at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France this summer after his wife's anti-Muslim outburst on an X account she has since deleted.
THE DAILY MIRROR
Football lawmakers have progressed in their bid to stop goalkeepers timewasting when in possession of the ball.
Arsenal are due another £2m payment from Fulham for Bernd Leno after the Cottagers mathematically secured Premier League survival.
Granit Xhaka believes his former side Arsenal can still win the Premier League despite falling to a 2-0 home defeat by Aston Villa last Sunday.
THE SUN
Manchester United are set to offer Kobbie Mainoo a lucrative new deal with INEOS desperate to keep the youngster.
Former Chelsea star Glen Johnson has told the Blues they should sign Manchester United flop Raphael Varane.
Brazil legend and World Cup winner Romario has come out of retirement 15 years after his last professional match.
Premier League Golden Boot candidate Cole Palmer did not insist on a goal bonus clause in his contract when he signed for Chelsea last summer.
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique believes Jurgen Klopp's departure from Anfield will create the perfect moment for Mo Salah to leave Anfield as well.
Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley is appealing against a court order to pay £3.4m to a shipping tycoon or face a bankruptcy petition which would disqualify her as a director of the Premier League club.
THE GUARDIAN
The proposed takeover of Everton has moved into added time after the bidder 777 Partners was granted a last-minute extension to repay a £160m loan.
Samuel Eto'o has accused the Confederation of African Football's general secretary of several breaches of FIFA's code of ethics during the investigation into allegations that he was involved in match-fixing.
The early-season trial of the Kookaburra ball in County Championship games has been hailed as a success by England men's team director Rob Key.
THE TIMES
Aberdeen have vowed to give Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin time to rebuild the club in the hope that he will "anchor" the Dons for years.
The IOC has lifted its block on Britain hosting Olympic-related events after the government's U-turn on Russian and Belarussian athletes being allowed to compete at the Paris Games as neutrals.
THE I
Jadon Sancho is open to a Manchester United return next season with Erik ten Hag's future looking increasingly uncertain.
THE DAILY EXPRESS
Reported Liverpool managerial target Niko Kovac has broken his silence on the possibility that he is in the frame to replace Jurgen Klopp at Anfield next season.
The World Snooker Tour (WST) has responded after Ronnie O'Sullivan sensationally called for the World Championship to be moved away from its iconic Crucible venue.
THE ATHLETIC
Nottingham Forest have increased season ticket prices by an average of 24 per cent for the 2024/25 season.
THE DAILY RECORD
Aberdeen's chief executive Alan Burrows has revealed that Jimmy Thelin's loyalty to Elfsborg prevented the Dons from bringing their new manager in immediately.
Defiant goalkeeper Jack Butland delivered a loaded message to the Rangers sceptics who have a 'habit of writing us off'.
Steven Naismith has a Hearts goalkeeping plan in place which saw Craig Gordon reinstated to the starting XI at the weekend.
The Athletic
Remembering Dylan Tombides – the young Australian who left a lasting legacy at West Ham
By Roshane Thomas and Daniel Taylor
Every day when George Moncur wakes up, he thanks God for letting Dylan Tombides come into his life. April 18 will mark 10 years since the former West Ham United forward lost a three-year battle with testicular cancer at the age of 20. For Moncur, the date evokes a deeper bond with Tombides.
“The biggest sign is my daughter’s (Saylor Rose) birthday is the same day,” says the now Leyton Orient midfielder. “She will be five on Thursday and her birthday being on the same day Dylan passed away means a lot to me. That just makes me think how real God is, because not only is it the day a special kid was born, but a day my best friend sadly left us.”
Tombides, who was born in Perth, Western Australia and joined West Ham in 2008, had been diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer of 2011. Initially, he thought it was a cyst but when he played for Australia at the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, he was selected for a random doping test and it uncovered a tumour in one of his testicles.
He had been hit by a ball in the groin in a match against Brazil and thought it was nothing more than a routine dull ache. He was told it was testicular cancer while on holiday in the Mexican resort of Cancun with his dad, Jim, and he would need to have a testicle removed.
Tombides fought hard for three years but passed away with his family by his side. There were tributes from West Ham majority shareholder David Sullivan, co-owner David Gold, their long-time academy director Tony Carr, Australia international stalwart Tim Cahill, world football governing body FIFA’s then president Sepp Blatter and others.
It was a life cut short but many cherish the memories they experienced with Tombides. The forward was regarded as one of the brightest young talents at West Ham and was given his first-team debut by Sam Allardyce in September 2012. He was a team-mate but, more importantly, a close friend of whom Moncur, Matthias Fanimo, Kieran Sadlier and Elliot Lee, a star of Wrexham’s recent resurgence who wears the No 38 shirt to this day in his honour, will always have a lasting legacy — all have his name tattooed on their wrists.
West Ham retired Tombides’ No 38 shirt and paid tribute to him in their first Premier League game after his untimely passing, against Crystal Palace.
“The game was a special moment, knowing what it was representing and the Australian football community,” says Mile Jedinak, Tottenham Hotspur’s assistant coach and a former Australia international who got the only goal as Palace won that day, but did not celebrate. “I scored a penalty in the game and it was a surreal moment. For Crystal Palace, it meant we were safe in the Premier League but I was mindful of what the game was after I scored.
“I was a young parent then, and all I could think about at the time was wanting to offer my condolences to his family. I could do it after the game, and from that moment, I stayed in touch with them. I was aware Dylan was making waves at West Ham. You don’t play for a club like that if you don’t have something about you. It would’ve been nice to play against Dylan but sadly it wasn’t meant to be. He was well on his way to becoming a big star in the game.”
Last Sunday’s 2-0 loss against Fulham was used to highlight the charity set up in Dylan’s memory, called DT38. Both sets of supporters commemorated Tombides with a minute’s applause in the 38th minute of the match.
Dylan’s mum, Tracy, at the game against Fulham (DT38 charity)
Ten years on, The Athletic has spoken to former team-mates, managers and family in tribute to Tombides.
Tombides played his early football in his hometown of Perth and in Hong Kong before joining West Ham as a 14-year-old. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Australians Cahill and Jedinak by playing in the Premier League. It did not take long for him to impress.
“I remember Dylan turning up to training with a strong Aussie accent, terrible gear and a terrible trim (haircut),” says Dan Potts, who is now at Luton Town in the Premier League. “We came back for pre-season one summer and he looked a completely different player. He was frightening in training. His finishing and touch improved, and then it went on from there.”
For Moncur, his bond with Tombides grew off the pitch, after a slow start.
“When Dylan joined the academy, he was a striker,” says Moncur. “He rocked up to training with this mullet haircut, me and Elliot Lee said, ‘Who is this geezer?’. Then we saw him play, and he was so good. He made his debut under Big Sam (Allardyce) and he was the only one at that time who got near the first team.
“My earliest memory of Dylan is a pre-season trip to Hong Kong. He was in the age group below me for the academy, but because my birthday is in August I got to play with him. We weren’t really close on that trip and we had a little bit of an argument about something, but we just became inseparable after.
“Once, he got the worst haircut in the world; and two days later, I decided to get an even worse haircut. One day, he bought pink football boots, then I decided to do the same. We were brothers. I’m very loud and Dylan was the Australian version of myself. That’s why we got on so well.”
Sadlier, the now Wycombe Wanderers midfielder, often roomed with Tombides on away trips. He would watch his team-mate take his medication daily but, out of respect, never asked Tombides about his mental state.
“You could physically see Dylan was becoming weaker than the others, but I’ve never seen someone so bubbly and happy when they’re going through so much behind closed doors,” says Sadlier. “We’d come back to the changing room after training and our clothes would be taped up — Dylan was a prankster. He was still the same and I used to admire that so much about him.
“I often think seeing us was his release. I never once saw Dylan cry or feel sorry for himself. He was always happy and that’s what sums him up.”
The DT38 Foundation was launched in memory of Tombides in February 2015.
Tracy, his mother, has made it her objective to raise awareness of testicular cancer, the importance of education and self-checking to enable early diagnosis through the charity.
“Dylan was so inspirational,” Tracy says. “Every day, he would get out of bed to fight his disease, even though no one would blame him if he wanted to stay curled up in bed. He pushed himself as much as he was allowed, as West Ham’s medical staff would keep a very close eye on him with regular testing.
“He made it easy to be around him. He made everyone else comfortable about him having cancer. Seeing him get up every day and go in to training gave me such hope that he was winning this fight for his life.
“I don’t know where the time has gone, but the one thing I do know is that he has shaped my existence. I talk to Dylan every day.
“Dylan had an incredible zest for life. He was so determined to be the best version of himself, and the person he inspired the most was me. After Dylan passed away, I was numb. The only thing that was important to me was to give (sibling) Taylor the tools to manage the loss of his brother. We all grieved differently and my focus had to be Taylor and the charity, DT38, that we started in Dylan’s memory.
“This was my reason to get out of bed. I would always say to myself, ‘What would Dylan do?’, and Dylan would be strong and lead by example and make something good out of this heartbreaking situation.
“ I’ve started many things over the past 10 years but the one thing that I’m so immensely proud of is the charity in his memory, and the wonderful legacy that he has left behind. He was such a loveable character and his death will not be in vain.”
Tracy recalls a moment when Dylan, Taylor and Jim were playing their usual round of golf one afternoon and the latter shanked one off the tee. The trio laughed as they wondered where it had ended up. It was only when they returned to the car park that they found what it had hit — their own car’s windscreen.
Tombides once described himself as the “happiest kid with cancer” you could meet.
In January 2012, he had surgery to remove his lymph nodes. Family, friends and staff at West Ham thought Tombides’ condition was improving but the cancer returned. Every time there was a breakthrough, Tombides would receive devastating news of a setback.
Reflecting on his friend’s initial diagnosis still feels surreal for Moncur.
“I’ll never forget the day we found out Dylan was ill,” he says. “It was a Saturday and we had a game at Chadwell Heath (the old West Ham training ground) but Dylan wasn’t there and no one said why. Afterwards, Tony Carr sat us down and said he has testicular cancer. It was out of the blue, and we didn’t see Dylan for ages because he was having his treatment.
“There are so many moments with Dylan that I cherish. We went on a trip and there was this goalkeeper called Jake Larkins. We all got on well but he (Larkins) hated people touching his stuff. We’re at the airport waiting for our flight and he bought the book Fifty Shades Of Grey. I haven’t got a clue why he bought it but he loved the book and read it every day. Me and Dylan managed to get his room key. We’ve both gone in and… made a mess in his book — that’s the PG way of me explaining what happened! Jake eventually found out and went crazy.
“That’s just one crazy story of me and Dylan. We used to throw players’ clothes in the ice bath. Just lots of crazy stuff.”
Tombides was 18 years and six months old when he made his West Ham debut, off the bench in a League Cup match away to Wigan Athletic on September 25, 2012.
“I gave him his debut on the basis he was fit and well at the time,” says Allardyce. “His hair was growing back, his muscles were redeveloping and he was enjoying his training. We didn’t make a big fuss out of it. He was in the squad on merit.”
Moncur had made his own first-team debut for the club one round earlier in the same competition, against Crewe Alexandra, but there was an acceptance from him and his peers that Tombides would have become a first-team regular.
“Big Sam doesn’t mess about,” says Moncur. “He wouldn’t play kids if he didn’t think they were good enough. People might think Dylan playing was out of sympathy but there’s no chance in that. Myself and others were on the bench loads of times but never came on, so it showed what the manager thought of Dylan.”
Four months after that debut, Tombides was back on high-dose chemotherapy and needed a stem-cell transplant twice within eight weeks. He wanted to represent Australia at the Under-20 World Cup in 2013, but the cancer had spread to his liver.
“It looked like Dylan was heading in the right direction with his recovery and then he kept suffering setbacks,” says Allardyce. “He came back three or four times and you can only imagine the chemotherapy he was going through. From Dylan’s point of view, he probably would’ve found it frustrating, the stop-start nature of his recovery, plus feeling pain.”
For Moncur, there is always the lingering thought of what could have been: How many appearances would Tombides have made for West Ham in another world? Would he have played for the national team? What type of parent would he have been? Witnessing his friend die so young has given Moncur perspective on life.
“I was in Scotland, on loan at Partick Thistle, and his mum phoned to say Dylan had passed away,” Moncur recalls. “I had to sit down to process what she told me. When I left West Ham, Dylan was getting better and I thought he was on track to fully recovering. I was in shock but for whatever reason he was taken from us. I know Dylan is in a better place and as much as it’s sad and upsetting, my faith in God has helped me cope as the years have passed.
“No matter how tough life gets, you have to enjoy every day. Time goes so fast. You don’t know when your last day is. That’s what Dylan’s death has taught me. He was an unbelievable player but, more importantly, a brother.”
Sadlier was informed of Tombides’ passing by coaches at the training ground. Ten years on and his daily reminder of Tombides adds extra motivation.
“The hardest part was phoning some of the lads like Elliot and Dan,” he says. “They were the most difficult phone calls I’ve made in my life. That day, me and Dan planned to go to the cinema to watch Spider-Man. I told him what had happened, we decided to still go, so it could help clear our heads, but I couldn’t tell you a single thing that happened in the film.
“A few days after, me, Elliot, and Matthias decided to get tattoos as a tribute to Dylan. When I score a goal, I always kiss mine. He’s always in our thoughts.”
(Top photos: Tombides playing for Australia and a tribute to him in West Ham’s most recent home game/Getty Images)
