Dwight McNeil’s partner has claimed Crystal Palace provided no explanation for pulling out of a move to sign him from Everton on transfer deadline day and accused them of toying with the winger’s mental health.
McNeil stayed at Everton after Palace decided not to proceed with a £20m deal at the last minute despite the 26-year-old having completed his medical and agreed terms on a four-and-a-half-year contract. It is understood the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s £30m move to Milan, after the France striker failed a medical, prompted Palace to change their offer to an initial loan with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.
A deal sheet was submitted to the Premier League that gave Palace two extra hours to complete the paperwork. But Palace are understood to have had a change of heart, although it appears neither Everton nor McNeil were informed. Palace have been contacted for comment.
Their behaviour is believed to have left Everton mystified, and McNeil’s partner, Megan Sharpley, said in an emotional post on Instagram that they had got “radio silence” from the London club.
“Tonight, and the last 48 hours, have broken my heart to see how the football world you love so much can be so cruel to you,” she wrote. “To have something promised to you, to have been dragged along on an emotional roller coaster and to be toyed with until the final minute, to have 4 and a half years of your life promised to you, travelling, medicals, arrangements made, promises made, to have prepared to move your life, our life, 100s of miles away in the space of a few hours. For that to be torn away from you at the last second with absolutely no explanation, going from everything to radio silence, no phone call, no communication, and be left brokenhearted with nothing but confusion, has hurt more than I can say.”
Sharpley added: “We live in a world where everyone is aware of how big a problem mental health is. So, in football, why do we find it acceptable because these young men are on a lot of money and that’s okay to mess and toy with their mental health and that it’s just part of the job? No matter of money, we all deserve to be treated with respect, kindness, and fairly. So I really question the industry tonight. I only hope that there’s more done in the future to protect people from situations like what I’ve witnessed tonight.”
It was another chaotic transfer deadline day for Palace after the club’s chair, Steve Parish, pulled the plug on Marc Guéhi’s proposed move to Liverpool in September. The FA Cup holders broke their transfer record for the second time in a month after signing Jørgen Strand Larsen from Wolves in a deal worth up to £48m but must try to reintegrate Mateta after the France striker had pushed for a move.
Despite not signing McNeil, Glasner has a number of attacking options after the arrivals of Brennan Johnson and Evann Guessand but Palace have not replaced Guéhi, who moved to Manchester City. It is understood Parish rejected a suggestion from the sporting director, Matt Hobbs, that they should sign Max Kilman from Wolves, and approaches for Chelsea’s Josh Acheampong and Club Brugge’s Joel Ordóñez were turned down.
