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Crystal Palace and Everton have agreed a straight swap for Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil – six months after McNeil’s partner accused Palace of messing with his mental health after pulling out of a deal.
McNeil and Johnson, who became Palace’s record signing when he joined in January from Tottenham for £35m, only to be surpassed by the arrival of Jørgen Strand Larsen from Wolves for an initial £43m a few weeks later, are understood to have agreed four-year contracts with the option of a further 12 months. They are expected to have medicals on Monday.
McNeil, who has entered the final year of his Everton contract, appeared to be moving to Selhurst Park in February after Palace agreed a £20m fee on transfer deadline day. But the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s £30m move to Milan, after the France striker failed a medical, prompted Palace to change their offer to an initial loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.
They submitted a deal sheet to the Premier League, but then pulled out. McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, wrote an emotional post on Instagram saying there had been “radio silence” from Palace and that the player’s mental health had been affected.
“Tonight, and the last 48 hours, have broken my heart to see how the football world you love so much can be so cruel to you,” she wrote at the time. “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?”
Johnson has been disappointing since moving to Palace, failing to score in 18 Premier League appearances. Given he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract in January that is believed to be worth more than £100,000 a week, Palace will take a significant hit on the fee they paid, but remove one of their highest earners from the wage bill.
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Palace are also finalising a deal to sign Anan Khalaili from Union Saint-Gilloise for £21m. The Israel right-back had his medical on Sunday and is expected to sign a five-year contract. The 21-year-old’s move to Internazionale broke down last month after he failed a medical.
