Johnson for McNeil: Everton and Palace Make Their Swap

Johnson’s back with David Moyes at Everton. Eight months. That’s all it took. Just eight months since the 25-year-old winger moved to Palace from Tottenham for a hefty £35m back in January. And what did Palace get for that tidy sum? Twenty-six appearances. Zero goals. A real return on investment there, lads.

McNeil, 26, has been eyeing Selhurst Park for a while. Remember the winter window? Paperwork snafu. Deal went south at the eleventh hour. So, this swap? It’s a win for him. He gets his move. Johnson, meanwhile, is just the fifth warm body through Everton’s door this summer. Another winger for Goodison, then.

Johnson, bless his heart, reckons Everton feels like 'a really good match.' And Moyes? The manager’s experience, his belief in the lad – apparently, that’s key. Johnson told skysports.com that Moyes wants him 'getting back to the form that I've shown previously.' Let’s hope 'previously' means before his last eight months, shall we?

As for McNeil, he leaves Everton with a respectable 130 appearances, 15 goals, and 18 assists under his belt. Not bad. He’s spouting the usual lines about Palace’s 'recent success' being 'motivation' for this 'fresh challenge.' Funny how that 'motivation' only kicked in when the paperwork finally went through.

Everton hasn't exactly been quiet this summer. They’ve brought in Merlin Rohl, Hayden Hackney, Tyrique George, and Christian Norgaard – a mix of loans and permanent deals. Palace hasn’t been twiddling thumbs either. Defenders Oscar Mingueza and Takehiro Tomiyasu are in. And centre-back Maxence Lacroix? He’s gone, off to Chelsea.