Everton deadline day drama as Dwight McNeil transfer to Crystal Palace collapses

Everton winger Dwight McNeil was due to move to Selhurst Park in a loan move that featured an obligation for Crystal Palace to sign him for £20m

Dwight McNeil’s proposed move to Crystal Palace collapsed in the final minutes of the transfer window.

The 26-year-old looked set to seal a last-minute deal that would take him to Selhurst Park - initially on loan. The agreement would have included an obligation for the Eagles to make the switch permanent in the summer for a fee of around £20m.

Palace’s late bid for the winger set in motion a race against time that led to Palace submitting a deal sheet as the move advanced beyond the soft deadline of 7pm on Monday. However, the additional two hours that afforded the clubs was not enough for the move to be concluded.

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The result is that McNeil will stay on Merseyside despite looking set to spend the rest of the campaign on the periphery of the Everton team.

The belief at Everton is understood to be that they completed everything at their end in time and that paperwork issues that led to the collapse of the move emerged from the Eagles end.

McNeil did not play for the Blues at Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday with teenage central midfielder Harrison Armstrong selected ahead of him in the right midfield spot David Moyes has typically utilised him in.

The former Burnley man was withdrawn at half-time against Leeds United in the previous game.

His move fell through as Everton completed the loan signing of left winger Tyrique George from Chelsea.

The Blues have an option to sign the 19-year-old - an England Under-21 international team-mate of Tyler Dibling - on a permanent basis in the summer.

George said upon signing: "I feel ready, ready to make an impact. It feels like an exciting time for the club. I’m going to attack this new challenge. I want to hit the ground running as quickly as possible and hopefully I can do that.

"I've seen some pictures of [Hill Dickinson Stadium]. It's massive and looks amazing, so I'm really looking forward to playing there. Getting European football for next season is a good target for us and I know everyone will be working hard to achieve it.

"I want to come here and help the team win as many games as possible and keep climbing up the table."

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