Johnson signs for Everton in McNeil swap deal

Everton and Crystal Palace announced on Tuesday that they had completed a swap deal involving wingers Brennan Johnson and Dwight McNeil.

Wales international Johnson, who has signed a four-year contract at David Moyes’ Everton, only joined Palace in January in a £35 million ($47 million) move from Tottenham.

The 25-year-old was an unused substitute in the London club’s UEFA Conference League final success, 12 months after scoring Spurs’ winning goal in their Europa League final victory.

“There were a lot of reasons why I was so keen to join -– the manager, the players, the direction the team is going in,” Johnson told Everton TV.

“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.”

McNeil, 26, had been close to a switch to the Eagles during the January transfer window, but the deal could not be completed in time.

The former England under-21 international has also signed a four-year deal.

“The lads have had some great success over the last two seasons. It’s something that I want to be a part of, so I’m really looking forward to getting started,” he told the Crystal Palace website.

Everton finished 13th in the Premier League last season after a disappointing end to the campaign, two places above Palace.