Everton and Crystal Palace complete rare swap deal

Everton and Crystal Palace have completed a swap deal involving Dwight McNeil and Brennan Johnson.

The two clubs announced the deal on Tuesday morning that sees McNeil head to the Eagles and Johnson to the Toffees.

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Wales international Johnson only joined Palace in January from Tottenham in a £35million move.

He briefly held the mantle of the Eagles’ club record signing before it was broken weeks later for now-teammate Jorgen Strand Larsen.

The 25-year-old has struggled badly since swapping London’s north for south, having failed to score in 26 appearances for Palace.

The former Nottingham Forest star was then an unused substitute in his new club’s Conference League final triumph over Rayo Vallecano.

It is a rapid fall from grace from the heights of the 2024/25 season in which Johnson finished as Tottenham’s top scorer with 18 goals – which also included the winner in the Europa League final as Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought.

He found the net just four times across 22 appearances under Thomas Frank in the first half of last season before heading to Palace.

Johnson said: “I’m so excited to be here. The club speaks for itself – it’s a massive club and one that when I first heard of the interest, I immediately wanted to come and be part of it.

“There were a lot of reasons why I was so keen to join – the manager, the players, the direction the team is going in. You can see this is a club that wants to go in the right direction, and I’m a player who wants to go in that direction, too, so it feels like a really good match.

“I want to come in and show what I can do. The manager spoke to me about getting back to the form that I’ve shown previously, and that’s a massive thing for me – the fact he knows and believes in what I can do. For me, listening to him – a manager who is so experienced and someone who has been so successful – it was really nice to hear.

“I want to bring all of my attributes. First and foremost, I’ll work for the team, the fans, and represent the club properly. I know that’s something that’s definitely appreciated and a non-negotiable here. They can expect that from me. On top of that, I think I can bring speed, goals and everything I’ve got.

“The incredible fanbase that Everton has, whether it’s home or away, is something I’ve always felt. It’s a massive honour to be here and play for them now.”

Palace and Everton completed Johnson and McNeil swap deal

Johnson could have been joined at Selhurst Park by McNeil, who looked set to seal a deadline-day switch to the club in January.

A loan deal with a £20m obligation to buy was agreed with Everton, only for the transfer to be aborted at the 11th hour.

talkSPORT previously reported that the relevant paperwork was not submitted to the league in time, despite McNeil completing a medical and Palace submitting a deal sheet to be granted extra time.

The 26-year-old’s partner, Megan Sharpley, subsequently accused Palace of messing with his mental health and breaking promises.

Sharpley criticised the Conference League winners over a lack of communication and labelled their handling of McNeil as ‘cruel’.

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talkSPORT revealed in the days afterwards that Palace did not intend to abandon the deal and were sympathetic to the player’s plight.

It has also been reported that Palace held clear the air talks with McNeil’s partner.

Rare swap deals

McNeil had entered the final 12-months of the five-year deal he signed upon his arrival on Merseyside from Burnley in 2022.

Straight swap deals between two Premier League clubs, meanwhile, are proving increasingly rare due in part to amortisation (PSR Rules).

Teams are less likely to replicate the Alexis Sanchez-Henrikh Mkhitaryan swap and instead line up pseudo-swaps that go down on the balance sheet as two separate transfers – such as the individual deals which saw Luka Vuskovic join Brighton while Jan Paul van Hecke headed in the opposite direction to Tottenham.

Other recent examples included Everton and Aston Villa sending their academy products Tim Iroegbunam and Lewis Dobbin to each other in separate deals for a reported £9m each.

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Villa also flogged Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £19m days after landing the Blues’ homegrown defender Ian Maatsen for £37.5m.

The most infamous of them all saw Elliot Anderson leave his boyhood club Newcastle for Nottingham Forest in July 2024 for £35m.

Yet Forest effectively paid only £15m on the balance sheet, given goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moved to Tyneside for £20m.

talkSPORT verdict

McNeil’s former manager at Everton Sean Dyche is intrigued to see how both players adapt.

“Maybe it’s a good fit in a different way. It gives Dwight a different feeling coming to London,” Dyche told talkSPORT on Sunday.

“Would he be affected by that? I’ve mentioned before that some players are and some love it and they fit and hand in glove and others find it a bit tricky.

Equally with Brendan, he could be better off going outside London, there’s a different feel to a northern club… it’s a different feel, different people, different cultural feel.

“So it might suit both in a different way. It’ll be really interesting to see if this happens how them two players do.”