Everton to make dramatic Dwight McNeil U-turn, it could be a Friedkins masterclass
Dwight McNeil’s failed exit from Everton on transfer deadline day has been well documented.
Crystal Palace had a £20million bid for McNeil accepted as the 7pm cut-off point approached on Monday evening.
However, Palace went quiet and a deal for McNeil fell through – much to the chagrin of his partner Megan.
McNeil will no doubt be devastated to have seen the move collapse, having struggled for starts pretty much ever since David Moyes returned to Hill Dickinson Stadium.
However, it appears Everton could be about to make a dramatic U-turn on McNeil.
Dwight McNeil could be set for new Everton contract
The fact Everton offered as much as £20m for McNeil raised plenty of eyebrows among the Everton fanbase.
Given his relative lack of impact for a while now, nobody expected a Premier League rival to come in – let alone for that sum.
And it may well be that Everton now work to tie McNeil down to a longer contract on Merseyside.
According to Harian Metro’s print edition on Thursday, Everton will table a new deal for McNeil after the scenes that unfolded on deadline day.
McNeil’s current contract with Everton runs until the end of next season, having penned five-year terms in July 2022.
Friedkins make smart choice over McNeil – but he may not like it
From the outside looking in, it may seem strange that Everton are supposedly looking to hand McNeil a new deal.
This comes just days after they signed off on his exit, after all.
However, McNeil’s valuation – which, let’s face it, should not be near £20m anyway – will drop considerably come the summer.
With 12 months to go on his current deal at that point, half that amount will surely be the new valuation.
Should he extend those terms, though, then all of a sudden he is back to being worth a lot more.
From McNeil’s perspective, it makes zero sense to sign the new deal. Sure, he may be offered better terms, but it means he could be stuck at Everton for years to come.
He will surely consider the best outcome a summer exit, at which point the Friedkins will at least be able to still raise a fairly-decent sum.