Everton lead race to sign huge McNeil upgrade from Premier League club

Everton did not play well against Leeds United on Monday evening. Certainly, the Toffees struggled to capture the gusto they have drawn numerous times this season.

The Hill Dickinson Stadium was an unhappy beast at half-time, and the frustrations were directed toward the home players, who were a goal down against Leeds United and deservedly so.

They rallied, and David Moyes would have been delighted to see Thierno Barry cancel out James Justin’s first-half strike, the striker bagging his fifth from his last eight starts in the Premier League.

However, others left something to be desired, with Dwight McNeil, standing in for the injured Jack Grealish, flattering to deceive.

Moyes and technical director Angus Kinnear will agree that more firepower is needed from attacking midfield.

Everton leading race for Premier League star

Grealish has been immense for Everton this season, but there are fears that his best days in a Blues shirt are behind him, having been ruled out for the next few months with a foot stress fracture.

The 30-year-old is on loan from Manchester City, and his creativity has played a big part in the squad’s evolution, now more dynamic and purposeful in attack. No longer relegation candidates, Everton sit in tenth place after 23 matches.

But more is clearly needed, which is perhaps why plans are being made to sign Fulham attacking midfielder Harry Wilson, who has collected a long list of suitors after his excellent season in the Premier League so far.

That’s according to Caught Offside, who suggest that Everton are the ones leading the race for the Wales international, even with the Cottagers pushing to renew his contract. Indeed, it’s stated that the Merseyside outfit are the ones showing the most ‘serious’ interest right now.

Such attempts have trundled to a halt recently, and Fulham’s drive to sign Oscar Bobb from Manchester City before the end of the month suggests contingency plans are being drawn to compensate for the loss of their new talisman, who is out of contract at the end of the season.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace are known to be among the 28-year-old’s admirers.

Why Harry Wilson would be a McNeil upgrade

There have been times during McNeil’s time at Everton when he has looked like a special player. At the start of last season, for example, before Moyes replaced Sean Dyche, the playmaker was a bright spark, posting three goals and three assists across the first eight games of the season.

But he’s fizzled out this year, disrupted by a long injury layoff throughout the early days of Moyes’ second reign. As per Sofascore, the 26-year-old has lost 60% of his ground duels in the Premier League this season, and his impact in the final third has been negligible.

But it’s his lack of energy and fight that has rankled the Everton fanbase. During the draw against Leeds, he looked lethargic, didn’t track back, was slow to join the attack.

Wilson, by contrast, has been a livewire for Fulham this term, with Sky Sports reporter Dougie Critchley calling him “the form player in the Premier League“.

The Welshman knows how to unleash a speculative shot, but he’s more than just a showman in front of goal. Wilson, once a part of Liverpool’s academy, has won 58% of his ground duels in the Premier League this season while averaging 1.1 key passes per game

Sure, he’s got flair. His boss, Marco Silva, said that “everything he touches becomes something magic“, but there’s a groundedness about his game that suggests he would dovetail right into Moyes’ way of doing things.

McNeil has detached himself from the Everton fanbase with half-hearted performances. That is unforgivable, and Wilson would prove a big upgrade in that regard, one that the supporters would embrace with open arms.

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