Dwight McNeil's escape route to a fresh start away from Everton was dramatically closed off this evening when an agreed switch to Crystal Palace collapsed.
The South London club had agreed a £20m fee with Everton late in the day and had submitted a deal sheet for the 26-year-old winger which afforded them an extra two hours beyond the window to complete a medical and finalise the required paperwork.
However, according to The Athletic's David Ornstein, Palace officials sought to amend the terms of the arrangement from a straight purchase to a loan deal with an option to make the transfer permament in the summer.
Those terms were not deemed acceptable by Everton, who were only interested in a sale, the paperwork was not filed in time with the Premier League and the move was called off shortly after the 9pm cutoff.
Palace had come in with a very late offer for McNeil who has fallen down the pecking order at Bramley-Moore Dock following the arrivals of Jack Grealish, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and the form of Iliman Ndiaye and looked set to add him to their squad along with Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves.
The 26-year-old will now remain with the Blues until the summer at least when there may be reignited interest in his services, with his current Everton contract due to expire at the end of next season.
Selected thoughts from readers
Certain off-topic comments may be removed to keep the discussion on track
Either no responses have been submitted so far to this article or previous submissions are being assessed for inclusion.
Add Your Thoughts
Only registered users of Evertonia can participate in discussions.
» Log in now
Or Join as Evertonia Member — it takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your thoughts on artices across the site.