Crystal Palace take '£16m' hit on Brennan Johnson - 'Why would you do that?'

Crystal Palace have taken a £16million hit by trading Brennan Johnson for Dwight McNeil in a straight swap with Everton.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that Palace's business this summer makes very little sense.

The Eagles signed the Welsh international from Tottenham Hotspur just last summer, splashing £35m on his signature, and what a mistake that was.

Before making the switch to Merseyside, the 25-year-old failed to score a single goal and only notched two assists at Selhurst Park in 2025-26.

His swap with McNeil has baffled football fans across the Premier League, with it currently being believed that there was no extra fees in the deal.

Borson is struggling to believe how that can be possible, though, or at least why Steve Parish and the Eagles would agree to such terms this summer.

Crystal Palace have taken a '£16m' hit on Brennan Johnson

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson detailed the finances behind Johnson's value after moving to Palace, and why a straight swap simply doesn't make sense.

"If you buy a player for £35m, it means he's on the books at £40m by the time you've added on all the ancillary costs," he said.

"You've only had six months of amortisation, so his book value, £40m divided by five, is £8m-a-season. It's £4m for the six months. So his book value is, let's say, £36m.

"The idea that they've done a deal to trade him at £20m and crystallise the £16m book loss, that can't be true. It just can't be.

"Why would you do that? I don't know what the deal actually is, obviously, but the idea that Crystal Palace have taken a £16m loss on the player, I'm sorry, I don't believe that."

What other business will Crystal Palace do?

With Johnson going to Everton, Palace have re-signed Evann Guessand from Aston Villa, with McNeil likely to occupy the opposite flank.

Both Oscar Mingueza and Takehiro Tomiyasu have arrived as free agents, with Daniel Imray and Maxence Lacroix going through the exit doors.

Financially, the Eagles should be okay, despite fears of SCR at Selhurst Park, especially after Lacroix's £52m move to Chelsea last month.

With Pierre Sage now in charge, taking over from Oliver Glasner, Palace will be an interesting one to watch during the 2026-27 campaign.