Everton and Crystal Palace are negotiating a swap deal that would send winger Dwight McNeil to Selhurst Park and see Wales international Brennan Johnson move to Goodison Park in the opposite direction. Both clubs are hoping to finalise the deal this week, revisiting a transfer that collapsed earlier this year amid controversy over how McNeil was treated by Palace.

McNeil, 26, had a loan-to-buy move to Palace worth £20m agreed in February, and had passed a medical, but the deal fell through when paperwork was not completed in time, prompting his partner to publicly criticise the club's handling of his mental health. Johnson, 25, joined Palace from Tottenham for £35m in January but failed to score in 26 appearances, whereas McNeil has scored 15 times in 128 games since joining Everton from Burnley for £20m in 2022. The two clubs, who finished 13th and 15th respectively in the Premier League last season, meet at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 22 August in the opening weekend of the new campaign.