Everton and Crystal Palace have completed an unusual Premier League swap deal that sends Brennan Johnson to Merseyside and Dwight McNeil to Selhurst Park.
The Toffees confirmed that Wales international Johnson has signed a four-year contract after leaving Palace, just seven months after the Eagles paid £35 million to bring him in from Tottenham Hotspur. McNeil, meanwhile, has moved in the opposite direction and committed his future to Palace until 2030.
No additional transfer fee has been exchanged between the two clubs, according to reports, making the agreement a straight swap between the Premier League rivals.
For McNeil, the transfer finally completes a move to Palace that dramatically collapsed earlier this year.
The 26-year-old was on the verge of joining the Eagles in February after the clubs agreed a loan deal containing an obligation to make the transfer permanent for £20 million this summer.
McNeil had even completed his medical, but the required documentation was not submitted before the transfer deadline and the deal collapsed.
The episode prompted a furious reaction from McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, who criticised Palace on social media and accused the club of negatively affecting the player’s mental health.
Before completing the latest deal, Palace chairman Steve Parish reportedly contacted Sharpley personally in an effort to resolve the tensions created by the failed February transfer.
McNeil now gets the move he came agonisingly close to securing six months ago, ending a four-year spell with Everton that began when he arrived from Burnley in 2022.
Johnson’s switch to Everton represents another dramatic change of scenery in a career that has seen him move between four Premier League clubs.
The Wales winger established himself at Nottingham Forest before Tottenham paid more than £45 million to sign him in 2023.
His most memorable Spurs moment came in May 2025 when he scored the decisive goal against Manchester United in the Europa League final, securing Tottenham’s first major trophy in 17 years.
Johnson left Tottenham for Palace in January 2026 in a £35 million deal. However, his spell at Selhurst Park failed to produce the impact expected.
He made 26 appearances in all competitions for Palace without scoring before being included in the agreement that takes McNeil to south London.
Everton will hope Johnson can rediscover the attacking form that made him such an important player at Forest and Tottenham, while Palace finally land a player they had already tried to sign earlier this year.
The extraordinary agreement gives both 25-year-old Johnson and 26-year-old McNeil fresh starts — without either Everton or Palace having to negotiate a conventional cash transfer.
