Everton and Crystal Palace raised a fair few eyebrows this summer when they agreed a swap deal, an increasingly rare commodity in football these days. The swap saw Dwight McNeil head to Selhurst Park and Brennan Johnson moving the other way up to Hill Dickinson Stadium.
For Everton, the deal called time on McNeil’s four-year spell at the club and sees David Moyes replace him with a very different profile of winger.
Brennan Johnson arrives at Everton following a difficult six-month spell at Crystal Palace, after joining the South London side for £35m from Spurs in January this year. But at 25 years old, the former Nottingham Forest man still has plenty of time to rediscover the form that established him as one of the Premier League’s most exciting attacking talents.
For an Everton side that has lacked genuine pace and threat in behind from wide areas in recent seasons, Brennan Johnson could provide something which has been in short supply.
So, what exactly are Everton getting?
Not many supporters know Brennan Johnson better than those at Nottingham Forest, where he progressed through the academy before becoming a key figure in their promotion campaign of 2022.
Speaking to the Toffee Blues, Nottingham Forest supporter and journalist George Edwards believes that two qualities stand above the rest.
“Two main strengths — pace and being in goalscoring areas,” he said.
“Johnson thrives in a counterattacking setup where he can receive the ball in transition and go on marauding and box-crashing runs forward.
“He can lead a press and is a top finisher when confident, but he does have spells of weeks or sometimes months when things don’t go his way and he can appear ineffective going forward.”
“He’ll give it everything though, which — along with being a Nottingham lad — was why he quickly became a fan favourite at the City Ground.”
These qualities could be a really useful asset for Everton this season. Speed was never one of Dwight McNeil’s strong points, I think that might even be slightly generous. For years, I feel that Everton have lacked wide players with genuine pace to turn a defence around and get them backpedalling towards their own goal.
“His rapid acceleration over 5-10 yards sets him apart from other speed merchants however — this is his unquestioned biggest strength,” George added.
To an extent, Iliman Ndiaye is probably the only player we’ve seen do this in recent years, ironically against Nottingham Forest in December 2025 to tee up Thierno Barry’s first goal in blue. Jack Grealish is a different profile of winger altogether in my opinion.
These qualities feel like something Everton have been lacking, in particular his willingness to attack goalscoring positions. How many times have we seen fantastic chances flash across the box with nobody there to tap them home? Johnson has those instincts to be the player arriving late at the back post to convert those chances.
Getting the best out of Brennan Johnson
However, getting those qualities out of Johnson consistently could be one of Moyes’ biggest challenges.
For George, one of Johnson’s biggest weaknesses can be his involvement in games.
“Drifting in and out of games. Same can be said about most wingers, but he is not somebody who drops very deep to get on the ball,” he said.
“He will move and dart into space, but you have to find him rather than him finding his teammates.”
“He can beat a man very well whilst running or one-on-one, but in two-on-one occasions he often crosses straight into the defenders rather than looking for a pass.”
Apart from McNeil’s unwillingness to use his right foot, one of my biggest frustrations with him was his decision-making and being involved in games, something which is clearly a shortcoming of Johnson too according to George.
For me, this only reinforces the need to sign a recognised right-back. Whoever has played on that side often ends up doing two jobs at both ends of the pitch, and if Brennan Johnson doesn’t drop deep naturally, Everton need a full-back that can be solid defensively whilst also supporting the attack.
I won’t bore you with any more right-back talk!
Despite these weaknesses, George did say that Johnson may well have developed these attributes since leaving the East Midlands.
“But he has not played for Forest for three seasons, so he will have progressed as a player in that period,” he added.
The ‘swap deal’ – who won?
The circumstances of Johnson’s arrival and McNeil’s departure, of course, add another layer of intrigue to the deal.
These straight swap deals remain an extremely rare occurrence in the world of football, particularly in an era governed by PSR and SCR rules.
As an outsider looking in on the deal for both Palace and Everton, I asked George if Everton got the better end of the swap.
“Absolutely,” he said.
“[Everton] lose out on McNeil’s dead-ball delivery and having a left footer, but Johnson suits what could make the difference far more than McNeil did.”
“Plus Johnson is younger, an international, a consistent goal threat and had longer left on his deal.”
“Awful business from Palace in my opinion, as ever.”
From an Everton perspective, the financial aspect of the deal is easy to understand. McNeil had entered the final year of his contract, while Palace had paid £35m for Johnson only seven months earlier. To exchange them without having to commit another sizeable transfer fee looks, on the face of it, like smart business.
Can Everton rediscover the Brennan Johnson of old?
Perhaps the biggest question mark surrounding Johnson is why a player who was one of the most exciting prospects to come from Nottingham Forest in recent times has struggled to find that same level of consistency away from the City Ground.
Across his 109 games for Forest, he scored 29 goals and 12 assists, but his time at Palace was a stark contrast, with Johnson registering just two assists in his 26 appearances for the South London club.
For George, one factor in particular has made life more difficult for Johnson since leaving Forest.
“Having a fanbase be as patient as Forest were. Granted, at Forest he was the hometown hero and — along with Gibbs-White — best player,” he said.
“I think he was treated harsh at Spurs given he was their top scorer in 2024-25 but he wasn’t afforded that patience.”
“And Palace was just a toxic scenario he had to get out of.”
Whilst I do think us Evertonians haven’t been the most patient with players in recent years, I think one of George’s earlier comments will stand Brennan Johnson in good stead for his time on Merseyside.
“He’ll give it everything though, which was why he quickly became a fan favourite at the City Ground.”
As long as he works hard, he will go a long way in endearing himself amongst our fanbase.
From the Forest perspective, there is still confidence that Brennan Johnson can be successful at Everton.
“He is only 25, so absolutely he can replicate those levels,” George said.
“With a proper football club who will value his work ethic and personality and who plays football to suit him, I think Johnson will give Everton that much-needed injection of attacking flair and unpredictability.”
“Forest fans (apart from the usual expected fools) on the whole remember Johnson with fondness and wish him every success.”
It’s clear that Brennan Johnson has significant strengths, and ones that Everton have lacked in recent seasons. Explosive acceleration and intelligence to get into goalscoring areas at the right time could offer Moyes something different in attack.
The challenge for Moyes will be getting those qualities out of him and creating an environment for him to flourish.
If he can do so, it is clear to me that he can unlock a different dimension to our attacking options, something we lacked with Dwight McNeil in the squad.
What are your thoughts on the deal for Brennan Johnson? Let me know!
Massive thank you to George Edwards for his comments in this article, drop him a follow over on X @GeorgeEdwards05
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