Dwight McNeil - Midfielder

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A creative winger with a strong track record for attacking returns, Dwight McNeil put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal with Palace in the summer of 2026.

McNeil joined Manchester United’s Academy at just five-years-old. A prestigious talent from a young age, he was born not far away from Manchester in Rochdale, McNeil was a supporter of the club. However, he left at the age of 14, after struggling for game time over the previous two seasons.

Dwight isn’t the first footballer in his family, with his dad Matty McNeil having become something of a non-league legend in Greater Manchester, eventually breaking through into the EFL pyramid.

36 goals and two Player of the Season awards across three seasons for Hyde United saw him signed by Macclesfield Town in League Two.

McNeil senior even played for the Silkmen at Stamford Bridge against Premier League champions Chelsea in the FA Cup, getting an assist in a 6-1 defeat.

After further spells at Stockport County, Southport and Chester, he retired in 2012. Although Matty was a different style of player, no doubt he has passed on plenty of wisdom to the younger McNeil through the years.

McNeil joins Palace ahead of a second consecutive season of European football for the Eagles and does have previous experience of playing on the continent.

The former Burnley wide man actually got the first senior start of his career in Europa League, qualifying back in August 2018 against Olympiakos.

He then made a first Premier League start soon after against Manchester United – where he started his career as a schoolboy – before a goal against West Ham in the final game of 2018 kickstarted a run as a first team player.

McNeil first joined Burnley’s youth set-up in 2014, impressing enough to quickly receive a two-year scholarship.

He made the move to Everton in July 2022, following the Clarets relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season.

The winger seemed to thrive following the arrival of former manager Sean Dyche the following January, ultimately finishing the campaign as the Toffees’ top goalscorer with seven goals and also finishing as top in terms of overall goal contributions with 10.

That form saw him claim the Everton Young Player of the Season award, amassing 72.5 per cent of a fan vote.

In 2023/24, McNeil created 17 big chances in the Premier League, with only Mohamed Salah (22), Kevin De Bruyne (21), Bruno Fernandes (21) and Son Heung-Min (20) creating more.

A knee injury hampered his progress over the last two seasons, although – as Palace fans will remember – he did score twice against the Eagles in September 2024.

McNeil has also represented England at both Under-20 and Under-21 level, representing the former in the prestigious Toulon tournament back in 2019.

He scored his first international goal during the finals, in a 4-0 victory over Guatemala.

An Under-21 debut arrived in October 2019 against Slovenia, McNeil starting in a 2-2 draw where his new Palace teammate Eddie Nketiah was amongst the goalscorers.

He later figured in all three of his country’s matches at the 2021 European Under-21 Championship in Slovenia.