Everton should reignite interest in Dwight McNeil to help forward issues
Everton should be taking a second look at Burnley forward Dwight McNeil, with The Clarets now looking to cash in on the 22-year-old.
McNeil has a target for a string of Premier League clubs before, with 90min reporting back in June that as many as six clubs, including Everton, held an interest in the star.
Burnley have always dug their heels in to avoid selling one of their stars, but the London Evening Standard reported on Friday morning (22 July) that they are now ready to cash in.
The report outlined that Crystal Palace and West Ham were also chasing his services, so Everton will need to move quickly if they want to lure him to Merseyside.
Everton are also chasing Maxwel Cornet which could complicate matters, but McNeil would be the perfect budget-conscious signing for The Toffees.
Get it done
While McNeil is not a Richarlison replacement after failing to score a single goal last season and getting just one assist, he does offer a genuine Plan B if Everton need to sit back.
According to FBRef, McNeil is a rare example of a strong defensive winger, being amongst the best wingers in the league for pressures, tackles, blocks and interceptions.
There is creativity in there, as shown by the eight goal involvements he got in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons, but that has faded in recent seasons.
Part of that is down to the system Burnley deployed before relegation, with The Clarets going increasingly negative to try and avoid the drop.
However, it should also be noted that Burnley were infamous for how defensive they were under Sean Dyche, so part of that decline was also down to his performances dropping.
Yet again, the issue is money, with Lancashire Live reporting back in June that Burnley were looking for a fee of £15million for his services.
However, if Everton could agree a deal and help him rediscover his creative spark, then McNeil could be a bargain for them.