Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil Swap: A Fresh Start in Premier League
Brennan Johnson has barely had time to unpack in south London. Eight months after Crystal Palace paid a reported club-record £35 million to prise him from Tottenham, the Wales international is on the move again – this time to Everton on a four-year deal.
In a throwback-style Premier League swap, Dwight McNeil heads the other way to Selhurst Park, two wingers trading places after equally joyless seasons in front of goal.
Two careers stuck in neutral
Johnson’s stint at Palace never caught fire. Twenty-six appearances in all competitions, not a single goal. For a player brought in as a marquee signing, the numbers were brutal and the scrutiny relentless.
McNeil’s story at Everton was painfully similar. Once tipped as a future star during his Burnley days, the 26-year-old went through the entire campaign without scoring, across 25 outings for the Toffees. Two wide men, both short of confidence, both badly needing a reset.
That context framed one of the more scathing live reactions to the deal.
O’Hara and Agbonlahor let fly
Speaking on talkSPORT, former Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara made his feelings clear.
“I like Dwight McNeil,” he said. “Brennan Johnson has been a myth for a few seasons. He didn’t do it at Spurs. He hides in games.”
Gabby Agbonlahor picked up the thread, turning straight to the numbers.
“You look at their output last season,” the ex-Aston Villa striker said, pointing to the lack of goals and assists. “It’s a bit like ‘you give us him and we’ll give you him!’”
The tone only sharpened from there. As the pair laughed, O’Hara delivered the line that would explode online:
“‘We’ll give you crap, we’ll give you crap back!’”
Johnson bites back
The clip landed on Instagram and the reaction was instant. Johnson didn’t duck it, didn’t let it slide. He went straight into the comments and fired back with eight pointed words:
“Won more than both of these put together.”
No emojis. No softening. Just a reminder of his medal count and a public refusal to accept the “myth” tag without a fight.
The response went viral, dragging the wider conversation around his move into the spotlight and putting O’Hara’s critique under the microscope.
O’Hara moves to clarify
By Wednesday morning, O’Hara had shifted the debate onto X, insisting the social media snippet had stripped away key context.
“This [is] the [problem] when you only listen to a clip and not full story,” he wrote. He stressed the segment focused on last season’s output, not on Johnson and McNeil as talents.
“We were talking about Brennan and McNeil’s stats from last season which were CRAP not that they were bad players. I’m a fan of McNeill and also said Brennan has all the attributes but he would admit his season was crap.”
The message was clear: harsh on the numbers, not on the players’ ceilings. But by then, the back-and-forth had already added extra spice to an already intriguing transfer.
Fresh starts, no hiding places
Johnson now walks into a new chapter at Hill Dickinson Stadium under David Moyes, carrying a sizeable fee, a stinging public critique and his own sharp reply as background noise. At 25, he needs end product, not just promise. Everton will expect him to rediscover the direct, incisive attacking form that once made him such a coveted prospect.
McNeil, meanwhile, gets his reset in London. Palace offers him a change of scenery and a chance to reconnect with the player he threatened to become at Burnley. The talent has never really been in doubt; the question is whether a new system and new surroundings can finally unlock it again.
And there’s no gentle bedding-in period for either of them.
Everton and Crystal Palace meet on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. Two wingers, two fresh shirts, two sets of fans watching closely. The reunion arrives immediately — and so does the first judgment on whether this rare swap has actually changed anything at all.
