Dwight McNeil does the unforgiveable, David Moyes needs to go back on his word
David Moyes should reconsider his attitude towards Dwight McNeil’s future at Everton this month after Monday’s showing.
The winger started as Everton drew 1-1 with Leeds United on Monday, with Moyes‘ side ultimately unlucky not to take all three points.
The Toffees had gone behind early on, but dominated the final action after Thierno Barry found an equaliser.
McNeil was slammed for his performance against Leeds, and rightly so, with the winger hooked by Moyes at half-time.
With Jack Grealish’s injury not expected to see him back until April, the pressure is on Everton to find a solution before the window shuts next week.
Dwight McNeil in woeful performance vs Leeds
One moment of McNeil‘s performance against Leeds on Monday summed up his performance, and it came in the build-up to James Justin‘s opener.
McNeil had been tracking the full-back, but as Anton Stach broke down the Everton left, the winger did the unforgivable, and began jogging.
Justin did not even need to break into a sprint to beat the winger to the ball, jogging on to the cross with all the time in the world to place the ball past Jordan Pickford.
It was a lazy moment from McNeil that summed up a lazy performance. The 26-year-old completed just six passes throughout his 45 minutes on the pitch, with all of them going either backwards or sideways.
And what is more shocking to view is the winger’s average position throughout the first half.
As seen in the graph below, just one outfield Everton player was, on average, in a deeper position than McNeil (No 7) during his time on the pitch – James Tarkowski.
With the winger even deeper than his full-back, Nathan Patterson, it begs the question: how did he lose track of Justin so easily for the first goal?
Tyler Dibling has not yet looked convincing following his big-money move from Southampton, but, in just 19 minutes, the winger made far more of an impact.
The 19-year-old completed four dribbles, created a chance, and completed nine passes to put his senior teammate to shame.
David Moyes must do 180 on his previous comments
Speaking in December about claims that McNeil could leave Everton this month, Moyes said: “I don’t know where that’s come from, unless somebody else has heard it.
“As the manager of the football club, I’ve not heard any of that, so it’s difficult to answer – there’s no plan for that, no. I don’t really want to lose anybody. If we did, then we’d probably need to add to it.”
But McNeil’s performance on Monday has surely spelt out the writing on the wall to Moyes.
| Dwight McNeil | Premier League 2025-26 |
| Appearances | 14 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Shots | 8 |
| Chances created | 8 |
| Dispossessed | 8 |
| Touches in opposition box | 9 |
If the winger’s sale can allow for the arrival of a new option, Everton simply must take the opportunity.
With Grealish set to be missing for much of the remainder of the season, the Toffees must ask themselves what they realistically hope to achieve this season.
Retain McNeil in the starting line-up, and Moyes may as well pack away any dreams of the top eight.