Crystal Palace and Everton agree Brennan Johnson-Dwight McNeil swap deal

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 the winger’s 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 both agreed four year contracts with the option of a further 12 months. Both are expected to have medicals on Monday.

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McNeil, who has now entered the final year of his Everton contract, had looked set to move 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, with McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, writing in an emotional post on Instagram that there had been “radio silence” from Palace and that the player’s mental health had been impacted.

“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 okay to mess and toy with their mental health and that it’s just part of the job?”

Johnson has been disappointing since moving to south London, failing to score in 18 Premier League appearances. Given that he signed a lucrative 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.

Palace are also set to finalise 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 in south London. The 21-year-old’s move to Internazionale broke down last month after he failed a medical.