Parish's personal touch: how McNeil's Crystal Palace move went from broken-down deal to done
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish picked up the phone to Dwight McNeil's partner before the winger's move to Selhurst Park was completed — smoothing over a relationship that had publicly frayed the last time the two sides tried to do business.
McNeil, 26, signed a four-year contract with Palace on 11 August 2026 in a swap deal that sent Brennan Johnson to Everton, the club confirmed on its official website. The transfer closed a loop that first opened in January, when Palace had agreed a loan-to-buy arrangement worth £20m as a permanent fee. McNeil passed his medical, but the paperwork could not be completed before the deadline and the move collapsed.
His partner, Megan Sharpley, was unhappy. She took to Instagram to accuse Crystal Palace of toying with players' mental health after the January deal fell through. So when Palace returned for McNeil this summer, Parish made a point of reaching out to her personally to clear the air before the deal was finalised. BBC Sport reported the chairman's intervention; The Times and The Sun carried similar accounts.
For Palace fans, the off-field diplomacy is a footnote to what matters on the pitch. McNeil is a proven wide player with Premier League pedigree — the top flight of English football — and Parish described him as "a player with proven ability in the Premier League" on the club's announcement.
McNeil joined Everton from Burnley for £20m in July 2022 and scored 15 goals in 128 games for the Toffees. He is a winger — a player who operates on the flanks, stretching the opposition defence and delivering crosses into the box. Palace have won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League across the previous two seasons, and McNeil arrives at a club with genuine momentum.
The deal also hands Everton a fresh start for Brennan Johnson. The Wales international joined Palace in a £35m deal in January but made 26 appearances in all competitions without scoring — a drought by any measure. Johnson had arrived at Palace off the back of scoring the winning goal for Tottenham in the Europa League final in May, having moved to Spurs from Nottingham Forest in 2023 for a fee in excess of £45m. That goal in a European final feels a long way from a half-season without finding the net.
What makes this swap stand out is the symmetry. Both players needed a change of scenery for different reasons, and both clubs get a problem off the books while bringing in someone who fits. McNeil gets the move he was denied seven months ago. Johnson gets to reboot at Goodison Park, Everton's home ground, after a barren spell in south London. And Parish gets his man — but only after making sure the welcome was a warm one, not just for the player, but for the people around him.
