McNeil and Johnson Swap: A Fresh Start for Both Players
Everton and Crystal Palace have shaken hands on one of the more intriguing deals of the summer: a straight swap between Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson, with both players set to head in opposite directions after agreements were reached and medicals scheduled for today.
No add-ons. No drawn-out auction. Just a clean exchange of two careers in need of a reset.
McNeil finally gets his Palace move
For McNeil, this has been coming. Palace pushed hard for him in January, only for the move to collapse in the most modern of ways: paperwork that landed too late. Now, months on, the winger is finally on the brink of pulling on a Crystal Palace shirt.
At 26, McNeil has already ridden the full Everton rollercoaster. There have been stretches where he looked indispensable, a hard-running, left-sided outlet with a wicked delivery and a tireless work rate. But under David Moyes his influence has faded. He has slipped from central figure to expendable asset.
With just a year left on his contract, Everton could read the room. Keep him, and they risked watching him walk away for nothing next summer. Cash in, or at least extract value, and they could reshape the squad on their own terms. The swap with Palace gives them exactly that.
Johnson’s Selhurst struggle ends
Brennan Johnson’s time at Selhurst Park never really caught fire. Signed only last January for £35 million, he arrived with serious expectations and a proven scoring record from his spells at Tottenham and Nottingham Forest.
The return? No goals in 26 appearances across all competitions last season.
Those numbers tell their own story. Johnson’s pace and movement remained, but the cutting edge deserted him. A player once trusted to deliver in front of goal — 27 goals in 107 games for Spurs — suddenly looked short of confidence and short of answers.
Layered on top of that was his wage packet. At £130,000 per week, Johnson became a heavy presence on Palace’s books without providing the output to match. The club needed clarity: persist and hope he turned it around, or move decisively.
They chose the latter. Rather than hunting for a buyer, haggling over fees and payment structures, Palace accepted a different kind of solution. Let Johnson leave, bring in McNeil, and clear a big salary in one sweep.
Everton gamble on a reboot
Everton, though, see something worth betting on. They have tracked Johnson for years, long before the latest reshuffle in their recruitment department. The interest has survived changes in personnel and direction, which tells you how highly they rate him.
If they do match his Palace wages — a detail not yet confirmed — Johnson would walk into the Hill Dickinson Stadium as one of the club’s top earners. That is no small commitment for a player coming off a goalless season.
But Everton are banking on the version of Johnson who once carried real threat. The forward who hit 18 goals in all competitions for Spurs in the 2024/25 campaign. The one who thrived in space, attacked the box with conviction, and finished with composure.
Moyes has taken on reclamation projects before. Johnson now becomes the next in line. If the manager can strip things back, restore belief and find the right role for him, Everton may have secured a match-winner without paying a transfer fee.
Why it suits both clubs
From Everton’s side, the logic is clear. They avoid losing McNeil for free next year, bring in a forward profile they have admired for a long time, and potentially add serious goal threat if Johnson rediscovers his touch.
For Palace, it’s a reset that feels overdue. They finally land McNeil after January’s near-miss, gain a hard-working wide player who fits their style, and slice a major wage off the books in one move. In an era of tight financial controls, that matters almost as much as the football.
Both players are expected to sign four-year contracts, each with a club option for an extra 12 months. Long enough for both clubs to shape them, and long enough for both players to redefine how they are judged.
Two careers, one swap. McNeil heads south for the opportunity that slipped through his fingers in winter. Johnson moves north with his reputation on the line and a manager who believes he can revive it.
Now it’s over to them to prove this was more than just clever business on paper.
