Football
Exclusive: Dwight McNeil Rules Out Future Crystal Palace Move After Deadline-Day Disaster
Everton winger Dwight McNeil is ready to force a move away in the summer after a deadline day collapse with Crystal Palace. The winger was left angry and disillusioned after a £20 million move fell through due to paperwork issues. McNeil's girlfriend criticized Palace for their treatment of the player. McNeil will reject any renewed approach from Palace and his future at Everton looks uncertain under new manager David Moyes.
Burnley v Everton - Premier League by MB Media | Getty Images
Dwight McNeil will snub Crystal Palace for good after a humiliating deadline-day collapse that has left the Everton winger angry, disillusioned and facing an uncertain future, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
McNeil was primed for a £20million escape to Selhurst Park after making it clear he wanted out of Everton.
Palace were ready to strike, personal terms were allegedly agreed and a four-and-a-half-year deal was on the table. For the winger, it looked like the perfect fresh start. Then it all went wrong.
Palace’s move imploded in farcical fashion when they failed to complete the required paperwork before the deadline slammed shut.
The Eagles had been relying on Jean-Philippe Mateta sealing a late switch to AC Milan, but that proposed move collapsed at the eleventh hour, triggering a domino effect that killed McNeil’s deal stone dead.
SCRAMBLING
With Palace scrambling, the paperwork never arrived. The clock ran out and McNeil was left stranded.
Our sources have learnt the former Burnley playmaker was left stunned as contact from the Eagles suddenly dried up completely, despite assurances that the move to London would still through.
What had promised to be a career-defining transfer ended instead in silence.
No phone call. No explanation. No move.
Sunderland also made last-minute enquiries, but McNeil immediately dismissed any approach, believing his move to Palace was already all but sealed.
The fury spilled over onto social media when McNeil’s girlfriend, Megan Sharpley, hit out in an emotional Instagram post, accusing the south London club of treating the winger with a lack of basic respect.
“We live in a world where everyone is aware of how big a problem mental health is,” she wrote.
“So, in football, why do we find it acceptable because these young men are on a lot of money and that's OK to mess and toy with their mental health and that it's just part of the job?"
“We all deserve to be treated with respect, kindness, and fairly. The last 48 hours have broken my heart to see how the football world you love so much can be so cruel to you."
BROKEN PROMISES
“To have something promised to you, to have been dragged along on an emotional rollercoaster and to be toyed with until the final minute."
“For that to be torn away from you at the last second with absolutely no explanation – going from everything to radio silence, no phone call, no communication, and be left broken-hearted with nothing but confusion – has hurt more than I can say.”
Insiders insist Palace will now be wasting their time if they try again. McNeil feels burned and will reject any renewed approach this summer.
Back at Everton, the outlook is grim. Since David Moyes replaced Sean Dyche, McNeil has started just seven of 14 Premier League games.
Frozen out, furious and desperate for clarity, McNeil’s Everton future is hanging by a thread - and Palace have well and truly blown their chance.
Having written for national newspapers and respected publications for 25 years, Neil brings a wealth of experience as both a writer and journalist. In the past three years, he has done freelance work for BBC Sport.