Tuesday brought the very rare sight of a straight swap deal, as Brennan Johnson (£6.0m) moved to Everton while Dwight McNeil (£5.5m) finally joined Crystal Palace.
McNeil had been on the cusp of signing for the Eagles in February until a deadline-day transfer fell through.
Both sides of the switch brought a collective shoulder shrug from the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) community. But could one of them become a great buy?
2025/26 DISAPPOINTMENT
Initially, Johnson was able to continue the momentum of a 2024/25 campaign that brought 11 FPL goals and a Europa League final winner. He netted in Tottenham Hotspur’s opening victories over Burnley and Manchester City.
Yet he fell out of favour and moved to Crystal Palace at the start of January for £35 million. Despite making 26 appearances in all competitions, he then failed to score at all. And just the one FPL assist.
As for McNeil, the four-year Merseyside stint was halted by 2024/25’s knee injury, ending his status as a regular. Of the subsequent 46 league occasions, he’s started a mere 16.
ANY FPL POTENTIAL?
Continuing the apathy, both Johnson and McNeil have attacking midfield colleagues with more appeal.
At Palace, there’s Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) and Yeremy Pino (£5.5m), as new manager Pierre Sage is seemingly keeping the wing-back system. You’d imagine McNeil will be a back-up to these two.
Meanwhile, 15.2%-owned Iliman Ndiaye (£6.0m) costs the same as Johnson and should be on penalties – although the latest friendly added uncertainty to this. But since then, rumours say that he’s decided against a move to Al Hilal.
Johnson has to force his way past Ndiaye, Tyrique George (£5.5m) and, playing in an unnatural wing role since the end of 2025/26, Merlin Rohl (£5.0m).
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Actually, Everton and Palace will meet in Gameweek 1. Over the first six matches, our free Fixture Ticker puts the Toffees on top and the Eagles in fifth place.
The problem is that both Johnson and McNeil currently feel uninspiring, not to mention far-from-guaranteed starters. After mid-career sags, they’ll need to truly convince Fantasy managers before re-entering the FPL radar.
