Steve Parish's private contact before Dwight McNeil's move to Crystal Palace did not change the paperwork, but it helped clear the air around a deal that had already gone wrong once. McNeil's January loan-to-buy move for £20m fell through after he had passed a medical because the paperwork could not be completed in time. Palace later completed the transfer, and Parish told McNeil it was good to finally welcome him to south London.
Parish's intervention and the January fallout
The awkward part of this transfer was not the fee or the fit, it was the feeling around it. Megan Sharpley said the failed January move had left McNeil hurt after he was, in her words, dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster and then left with “absolutely no explanation” when the deal collapsed at the final minute.
BBC Sport understands that Parish reached out to smooth things over before this week's deal was completed. That does not mean his call was the reason the transfer got done, and the sources do not support that claim. It does show Palace tried to reset the tone before McNeil arrived.
What Palace are buying
McNeil is not arriving as an unknown quantity. He joined Everton from Burnley for £20m in July 2022, scored 15 goals in 128 games for the club, and Palace were willing to revive the move on that basis. Parish described him as a player with proven ability in the Premier League, which is a fair way to frame him.
McNeil himself sounded ready to move on. “The lads have had some great success over the last two seasons. It's something that I want to be a part of, so I'm really looking forward to getting started,” he told BBC Sport. Palace finished 15th in 2025 with 45 points, while Everton ended the year 13th with 49, so both clubs are operating in a similar middle ground. McNeil also signed a four-year contract in a swap deal that involved Brennan Johnson moving to Everton.
Palace unveiled McNeil on Tuesday, ending his four-year association with Everton. The transfer is done now, but the more unusual part of it was the quiet phone call before the deal was announced.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
