Everton have secured a total agreement with Burnley for the signing of former Manchester United academy player Dwight McNeil, reports The Athletic’s David Ornstein and Fabrizio Romano. The 22-year-old winger is expected to become their third signing of the summer and is already at Finch Farm to complete his medical.
Everton Agree Deal With Burnley for Former Manchester United Man Dwight McNeil
Everton are set to complete Dwight McNeil deal. Full agreement with Burnley, fee could reach £19/20m add-ons included – Lampard trusts him as good talent for present and future. 🚨🔵 #EFC
Medical ongoing, McNeil will follow Vinagre as new Everton signing very soon. pic.twitter.com/EytS5SpfAI
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 27, 2022
McNeil Will Join With Plenty of Experience and Helped by Manchester United Release
The Merseyside side have agreed to pay a fee of around £20 million for the youngster, the report adds. The Burnley academy product who was released by Manchester United as a schoolboy is already close to completing his medical tests with the Premier League side and has also agreed a five-year contract with them.
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The Toffees have had a long-standing interest in signing McNeil and have been tracking him for quite some time. They were also interested in signing Burnley forward Maxwel Cornet before finalizing this deal. After having barely survived relegation last season, Frank Lampard is still strengthening his squad to put up a bigger fight in the upcoming campaign.
Despite his young age, McNeill has already made over 100 Premier League appearances and was one of Burnley’s glowing attacking players during their stay in England’s top division. Indeed, the 22-year-old had 24 goal contributions (7 goals, 17 assists) in 134 outings for the Clarets in the Premier League.
While McNeil used to train at the United academy with the likes of Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood, they released him when he was just 14, and he has since come to realise that this was a blessing in disguise.
McNeil’s crossing ability is regarded as one of his biggest strengths as he can whip in some very inviting balls into the box. The winger is also very versatile, having the ability to play on both wings, as a wing-back or even in a more defensive role if necessary.
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He earned a lot of praise from ex-Burnley manager Sean Dyche back in 2020 when the 22-year-old operated in an attacking midfield role against Crystal Palace. Dyche tagged him as a “very adaptable player” for his versatility and seemed very fond of the winger during his reign at Turf Moor.
Everton’s Summer Transfer Business So Far
If everything goes well, McNeill will become Everton’s third signing of the summer transfer window. They already signed ex-Burnley centre-back James Tarkowski on a free transfer earlier this summer to bolster their backline.
Read More: Every Premier League Transfer Completed in Summer 2022
They also acquired former Wolverhampton Wanderers left-back Ruben Vinagre on a free deal earlier on Wednesday.
