Johnson and McNeil swap deal a win-win for all parties

It’s not often you see an out-and-out, straight swap deal go ahead, especially between two Premier League clubs.

Sure, there have been those deals put in place to circumnavigate the league’s financial rules, but they were always very much established as separate transactions, even if everybody knew they were essentially a swap.

However, in the case of Brennan Johnson potentially heading to Everton and Dwight McNeil hoping to head the opposite way to Crystal Palace, it seems like a straight swap could be coming to pass.

There will likely have to be some compromise to finalise it, but should it go ahead, Everton are getting a player who needs a change off their books, and are actually bringing in the profile of wide player they need — pace, a runner in behind and with an eye for goal.

It sets Everton up nicely in the wide positions, and there is still a strong likelihood Jack Grealish joins before the transfer window is up. Iliman Ndiaye, of course, may ultimately make way too, but with Johnson in the ranks, there is a proven record of output, from a player who is only 25.

Everton came close to signing Johnson before. He was a key target for Kevin Thelwell and Frank Lampard back in 2022, but that deal was scuppered once Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the Premier League.

A year later, Tottenham were paying just short of £50M to sign the Wales international.

And while the last year or so has been tough for Johnson, Everton are getting an upgrade.

He has that versatility of being able to play anywhere across the front line, including up top, but his best position is on the right. Really, this is the kind of player Everton should have been going for last year, but instead they elected to spend big on Tyler Dibling.

It’s not that Dibling is not a promising talent, but last summer, Everton needed to sign a right winger who would come in and make an impact, who would get minutes. David Moyes would always be more likely to give Johnson minutes than a 19-year-old.

This is shrewd business, though, from Everton. A stumbling block could be Johnson’s wages, which are reported to be north of £100k per week. However, perhaps Everton will be hoping to negotiate that salary down.

Johnson is not the most creative player, but he is someone who is adept at getting on the end of moves, either to finish or provide that final pass. He may not be playing crisp throughballs in behind, but his movement — when on form — is excellent, and he attacks the posts well. 

Since the start of 2022-23, Johnson has scored 37 goals and provided 19 assists in 181 games. His best goal tally came in 2024-25, when he netted 18 times for Spurs, including grabbing the winner in the Europa League Final.

Last season was his poorest when it came to goal involvements, as he registered just 6 across his time with both Spurs and Palace, but he is coming into a team that has struggled for goals — the bar is low.

It is a move that comes with question marks, though. 

Dibling had probably his most promising display in an Everton shirt against Stuttgart on Saturday, playing off the right flank, a position Johnson is likely to occupy. However, there is nothing wrong with healthy competition, as long as Moyes is willing to rotate.

This writer still feels it is likely Grealish ends up at Everton come the end of the window, and so the sale of Ndiaye probably becomes more likely now in turn. It’s not that Johnson is Ndiaye’s replacement as such, it’s just hard to see Everton carrying five wingers into the campaign, albeit they must still hold out for a very high fee on Ndiaye.

Moyes must also be willing to play to Johnson’s strengths. There’s little point in having him hug the touchline — he needs to have the freedom to cut inside and make those darting runs to latch onto crosses from the left, which is why going to re-sign Grealish make sense. Or, Everton need to upgrade on Vitaliy Mykolenko, which they seem incapable of doing.

McNeil will go with my best wishes, albeit apart from when Palace rock up to Hill Dickinson Stadium on 22 August. He was brought in at a difficult time for the club and, once Sean Dyche took over, he had an excellent spell in 2023 and 2024.

His form has badly dipped since then, though, and that he got so much game time last season was frankly baffling, even if he did do a decent job in a few matches in the late winter/early spring.

If this goes to plan, then Everton should have got the better of this deal. They have a player who is younger, with more potential, and crucially, more of the attributes that the team requires right now.

 

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