Crystal Palace and Everton are closing in on a swap deal for Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil. Standard Sport understands that both players will undergo a medical on Monday after their respective clubs granted permission for them to travel.
Deal details
Should the straight swap be finalised as expected, Johnson and McNeil are set to sign four-year contracts.
Johnson only signed for Palace in January, arriving at Selhurst Park for a £35million fee - then a club-record signing - from Tottenham. He made 13 starts in the Premier League and 26 appearances in all competitions but did not score a single goal for the Eagles.
McNeil's Palace move
McNeil is now set to get the move to Palace that he almost got at the start of the year. The 26-year-old had agreed to join the club on deadline day in January in an initial loan deal that would have become a £20m permanent move. However, that collapsed at the last minute as the necessary paperwork had not been finalised in time.
McNeil's partner hit out at the situation and the impact it had on the winger's mental health. Megan Sharpley posted: "We live in a world where everyone is aware of how big a problem mental health is. So, in football, why do we find it acceptable because these young men are on a lot of money and that's OK to mess and toy with their mental health and that it's just part of the job? To have something promised to you, to have been dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster and to be toyed with until the final minute. For that to be torn away from you at the last second with absolutely no explanation has hurt more than I can say."
Context
Palace have changed managers since then, with Pierre Sage replacing Oliver Glasner, but the club's interest in McNeil has remained. He had entered the final 12 months of his contract at Everton and this is a swap deal that is viewed as suiting all parties.
Johnson and McNeil are set to be quickly reunited with their former clubs. Everton host Palace on the opening weekend of the Premier League.
