Crystal Palace and Everton Finalize Brennan Johnson-Dwight McNeil Swap

Crystal Palace and Everton have agreed a straight swap of Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil, sealing a deal heavy with both financial calculation and emotional baggage.

Six months ago, this move looked toxic. Now it suits everyone.

A swap with history

McNeil, in the final year of his Everton contract, is finally heading to Selhurst Park after a failed February move that left deep scars. Palace had agreed a £20m fee on deadline day, only to change the terms to an initial loan with an obligation to buy when Jean-Philippe Mateta’s £30m transfer to Milan collapsed following a failed medical.

A deal sheet went in. Then Palace walked away.

What followed was not the usual quiet disappointment. McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, took to Instagram with a raw, emotional post accusing Palace of “radio silence” and of “messing with [McNeil’s] mental health”. She described watching “how the football world you love so much can be so cruel to you”, questioning how such treatment could be accepted simply because players earn substantial wages.

Those words hung in the air. Palace now return to the same player, this time with a four-year contract on the table and an option for a further 12 months. McNeil is expected to undergo his medical on Monday.

On the other side of the deal, Johnson’s short and stuttering time in south London comes to an abrupt end.

Palace cut their losses on record buy

When Johnson arrived from Tottenham in January for £35m, he became Palace’s record signing, a statement of ambition and a bet on potential. That status barely lasted a few weeks before Jørgen Strand Larsen eclipsed it with a £43m move from Wolves, but the message was clear: Palace were prepared to spend aggressively.

The return has been brutal. Johnson has failed to score in 18 Premier League appearances. The numbers are stark, and the optics worse when set against his lucrative four-and-a-half-year deal, believed to be worth more than £100,000 a week.

Palace will take a sizeable hit on the fee. The swap does not disguise that. What it does do is remove one of the club’s highest earners from the wage bill and bring in a player they have long wanted, one more naturally suited to the wide roles in their system.

Johnson, for his part, gets a reset at Everton and the chance to rebuild his reputation away from the weight of a record price tag.

Palace reshape on the flanks

This is not a one-off piece of business from Palace. It is part of a broader retooling of the squad, particularly in wide and defensive areas.

Alongside the McNeil–Johnson swap, Palace are set to finalise a £21m deal for Anan Khalaili from Union Saint-Gilloise. The 21-year-old Israel right-back completed his medical on Sunday and is expected to sign a five-year contract.

Khalaili arrives after seeing a move to Internazionale fall through last month when he failed a medical. Palace have stepped into that gap, gambling that whatever concerned Inter will not hinder his impact in the Premier League.

So Palace, stung by the fallout of a collapsed transfer in February, now lean into the same market, the same player, and another who has already seen one big move disintegrate.

It is a bold way to rebuild. The question now is simple: will this summer’s risks finally turn in their favour when the season starts to bite?