Everton have made their fourth new signing of the summer transfer window ahead of Wednesday evening’s friendly with Newcastle United.
Everton have completed the signing of Crystal Palace winger Brennan Johnson ahead of Wednesday night’s friendly with Newcastle United.
The deal has allowed Toffees winger Dwight McNeil move in the opposite direction in what is a rare swap deal in modern day football - and the agreement brings an end to Johnson’s short-lived stay at Selhurst Park. The former Nottingham Forest winger joined the Eagles in a deal worth around £26m last summer just months after he had scored the winning goal in Tottenham Hotspur’s Europa League final win against Premier League rivals Manchester United.
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Johnson went on to make 26 appearances during his one-season stay with Palace and provided just two assists during that time. However, that has not prevented Toffees boss David Moyes from making a move for the 25-year-old as he becomes Everton’s fourth new signing of the summer after they landed deals for Hayden Hackney, Tyrique George and Christian Nørgaard over the last month. Former loan signing Merlin Röhl has also been added to the Toffees squad on a permanent basis due to an obligation in the temporary agreement that saw the midfielder spend last season at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Johnson could be in the squad that will face Newcastle at Murrayfield on Wednesday evening - and the winger has revealed there were ‘lots of reasons’ why he was keen to join the Toffees before the move came to fruition.
After putting pen-to-paper on a four-year deal, the Wales international told EvertonTV: “I'm so excited to be here. The Club speaks for itself – it's a massive club and one that when I first heard of the interest, I immediately wanted to come and be part of it. There were a lot of reasons why I was so keen to join – the manager, the players, the direction the team is going in. 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.”
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