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Everton have confirmed the signing of Brennan Johnson from Crystal Palace, with Dwight McNeil completing a move in the opposite direction as part of a straight swap between the two clubs. Johnson, 25, has signed a four-year contract at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with a club option for a further 12 months, becoming David Moyes‘ fifth signing of the summer following Christian Nørgaard, Hayden Hackney and the permanent arrivals of Merlin Röhl and Tyrique George. He will wear the number 22 shirt. Both players completed medicals on Monday after the clubs settled on an exchange with no cash element in either direction – a detail that quietly does a great deal of work for Everton’s accounts. The economics of a swap Palace paid Tottenham £35m for Johnson in January, breaking their transfer record to do it. Everton have now acquired that same player without paying a fee, which means McNeil has effectively been valued at, or close to, the figure Palace committed seven months ago. For context: Palace agreed a £20m loan-to-buy package for McNeil in the winter window before the paperwork failed to land in time on deadline day. Getting the deal done at what amounts to a considerably higher valuation, for a player entering the final year of his contract, is the sort of negotiation Everton have not always won in recent windows. McNeil leaves after three seasons and 128 appearances, having arrived from Burnley for £20m in July 2022. Fifteen goals is a modest return for a player of his technical quality, but the numbers undersell a contribution that came largely during the club’s most turbulent period on and off the pitch. He deserves a decent send-off. What Everton are actually getting It would be dishonest to present this as the arrival of a finished article, and nobody on the forum is pretending otherwise. Johnson did not score in 26 appearances for Palace last season, including 13 Premier League starts. He was an unused substitute as they beat Rayo Vallecano to win the Conference League. Seven months at Selhurst Park produced almost nothing. The counter-argument is the eighteen months that preceded it. Under Ange Postecoglou, Johnson scored 18 goals across all competitions in a single campaign – more than any other Spurs player — including the winner in the Europa League final against Manchester United. That is not a fluke season dressed up by one big night; it was sustained output at the top end of the division. He then fell out of favour under Thomas Frank, and his stock has been sliding ever since. The tactical read is reasonably straightforward. Palace’s system, built around wing-backs, pushes wide forwards infield into congested areas – which is close to the worst possible use of a player whose defining quality is running in behind on the touchline. Moyes will ask him to hold the width and attack the byline. Whether that alone resurrects him is another question, but at least the job description matches the player. There is also a versatility argument worth noting. Johnson has started as a central striker more than fifty times across his career, largely during his Forest years, scoring twenty goals from those appearances. With Beto and Barry the only recognised centre-forwards, that flexibility has some value in a squad that has spent two years short of attacking bodies. Squad picture Johnson joins a forward line that now includes Iliman Ndiaye, Tyrique George and Tyler Dibling, with Jack Grealish reported to be close to a return. After several windows spent scraping together a matchday squad, Moyes will have genuine competition for places in wide areas. Speaking to the club website “I’m so excited to be here. The Club speaks for itself – it’s a massive club and one that when I first heard of the interest, I immediately wanted to come and be part of it. “There were a lot of reasons why I was so keen to join – the manager, the players, the direction the team is going in. You can see this is a club that wants to go in the right direction, and I’m a player who wants to go in that direction, too, so it feels like a really good match. “I want to come in and show what I can do. The manager spoke to me about getting back to the form that I’ve shown previously, and that’s a massive thing for me – the fact he knows and believes in what I can do. For me, listening to him – a manager who is so experienced and someone who has been so successful – it was really nice to hear. “I want to bring all of my attributes. First and foremost, I’ll work for the team, the fans, and represent the Club properly. I know that’s something that’s definitely appreciated and a non-negotiable here. They can expect that from me. On top of that, I think I can bring speed, goals and everything I’ve got. “The incredible fanbase that Everton has, whether it’s home or away, is something I’ve always felt. It’s a massive honour to be here and play for them now. “I’ve had some personal moments against Everton in the past and I think for those reasons, the Club has always had a little place in my heart. “My first Premier League goal came at Goodison Park, so that was very special to me. I remember watching so many Premier League games before that, so to score my first goal in an iconic stadium like that, in a big atmosphere, was incredible. “Now there’s a new stadium, which is unbelievable, and one that I played at last season. I remember it being a fierce atmosphere. It’s intimidating, it’s hostile – and it’s everything you’d want from a new stadium. A lot of clubs that move into new stadiums struggle to regain the atmosphere they had before but what I experienced there last year was amazing. “This club has everything to get back into European competition. As players, I think we have to put pressure on ourselves to get the Club back there, because that’s what the Club and the fans deserve to have. “Everton is a club that has the ambition to win those trophies – and I believe we can do it.” The forum got there first For anyone who has been following the Grand Old Team boards, none of this will have come as a surprise. The swap was posted on the forum nine days before the national press picked it up – the latest entry in a long tradition of this place being ahead of the story. Everton finished 13th last season, two places above Palace. Whether Johnson is the player to help close the gap on the teams above will depend almost entirely on which version of him turns up. But as pieces of business go, getting a £35m winger for a player with twelve months left on his deal is a good day’s work.