Everton and Crystal Palace Swap: McNeil for Johnson
Everton and Crystal Palace have shaken hands on one of the more intriguing deals of the window: a straight swap of Dwight McNeil for Brennan Johnson, with both players now heading for medicals before signing four-year contracts that include an option for a further 12 months.
It is a move built on timing, wages, and the nagging fear of what happens if you wait too long.
McNeil finally gets his Palace move
Palace have been here before with McNeil. In January, they were a few sheets of paper away from landing him, only for the deal to collapse on deadline day when the paperwork wasn’t filed in time. The winger stayed put. The opportunity, it seemed, had gone.
It hadn’t.
Now 26, McNeil has swung between indispensable and expendable during his Everton career. Under David Moyes, his importance has faded. With just a year left on his contract, Everton could hardly afford to drift into next summer and watch him walk away for nothing. The club’s stance this time has been clear: if the right offer comes, he goes.
Palace provide that exit route. They get a player they have clearly admired for some time, one they tried to prise away months ago. This time, the clock and the admin are on their side.
Johnson’s Everton chance arrives at the right moment
On the other side of the deal stands Brennan Johnson, a player Everton have tracked for years. The Wales international only arrived at Selhurst Park last January in a £35 million move from Tottenham, but his time in south London has never really caught fire.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. Twenty-six appearances in all competitions last season. No goals.
For a forward on big money, that return is brutal. Palace know it. Johnson knows it. The club needed to ease the pressure on the wage bill, and Johnson needed a fresh start.
His past, though, is what tempts Everton. Before his Palace struggles, Johnson proved he could hurt teams. Across 107 games for Tottenham, he scored 27 times. In the 2024/25 season alone, he hit 18 goals in all competitions for Spurs. Those are not the figures of a lost cause; they are the record of a player who, in the right setup, can be a serious threat.
Everton are betting that Moyes can be that manager and Goodison – or rather Hill Dickinson Stadium – that stage.
Wages, risk and reward
From Palace’s perspective, this is as much a financial decision as a football one. Johnson is on £130,000 per week. Shifting that level of salary off the books changes what they can do elsewhere in the squad.
Selling him outright might have proved awkward after a goalless campaign. The swap softens the optics. They move on a high earner who has struggled, and in return bring in a player they nearly signed anyway.
For Everton, the calculation is different. They avoid losing McNeil on a free in 12 months, replace him with a forward they have long admired, and accept the risk that comes with Johnson’s wage packet. Should they match his Palace salary – which is not yet confirmed – he will instantly become one of the highest-paid players at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
That is a statement. It is also a challenge to Johnson. Perform like the Tottenham version, not the Palace one.
A deal that suits both – if the football follows
On paper, the logic is hard to ignore. Everton turn a dwindling asset into a potentially explosive one. Palace cash in on a misfiring striker without a messy sale, and finally land McNeil.
The rest is down to the players.
If Johnson rediscovers the form that brought him 18 goals in a single season for Spurs, Everton will feel they have stolen a march on their rivals. If McNeil slots into Palace’s system and brings the creativity and work rate they chased in January, Selhurst Park will wonder why the deal ever slipped away in the first place.
Two careers at a crossroads. Two clubs juggling budgets and ambition. Only one question now: who ends up looking smarter when the goals – or the lack of them – start to count?
