Everton and Crystal Palace have agreed a rare swap deal that sends Dwight McNeil to Selhurst Park and Brennan Johnson to Goodison Park. Both players are scheduled for medicals before signing initial four-year contracts, and the move is being pushed through before the opening weekend. Fabrizio Romano said: "Dwight McNeil joins #CPFC and Brennan Johnson joins #EFC, everything done and medical starting today for both."
The deal and the February collapse
This is not a brand-new pursuit. McNeil's move to Palace revives a deal that collapsed on deadline day in February because the paperwork was not completed on time. That failed move left real frustration around McNeil's camp, and Megan Sharpley said it felt like an "emotional rollercoaster" after the player had been led towards a transfer that never landed.
The football part of it is straightforward enough. McNeil has started or appeared in Everton's last 5 league matches, while Johnson has featured in Palace's last 5 matches in the stat sample, so this is not a fringe-player clean-up move. It is a live first-team swap between two squads still making decisions at the top end of their attacking options.
Why both clubs are moving now
The logic for Everton is clear. McNeil is entering the final year of his Everton deal, so there is a sensible argument for moving before the club lose control of his value. McNeil has also registered 15 goals in 128 games for Everton since signing for £20m from Burnley in 2022, which is a useful output but not one that makes him untouchable.
Palace's side is just as easy to read. Johnson arrived in a £35m deal from Tottenham Hotspur in January and failed to score in 26 appearances for Palace. He has not given them the return they wanted, and a swap now gives them a cleaner reset than keeping a high-wage forward who has not produced in the league.
The other detail that makes this deal awkwardly neat is the fixture list. Everton and Crystal Palace meet on Saturday, August 22 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, so the clubs could face each other almost immediately after the move is registered. If the paperwork goes through as expected, that game will carry a bit more than the usual opening-weekend noise.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
