There were small rumors about some interest in Dwight McNeil leaving Everton during the now-closed January transfer window. But nothing came of the buzz, at least not until the final hours of the window.
Then the rumors started taking real shape, with first Nottingham Forest (managed by former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche, who knows McNeil well) and then Crystal Palace joining the fray for McNeil's signature. A standard loan felt like the most obvious path forward.
And then Palace submitted a bid for a purchase somewhere in the neighborhood of £11-12 million, which Everton rejected without discussion. Most probably assumed that was it for the deal.
But then Palace came back with a bid for £20 million, the number Everton had given as the asking price for the 26-year-old winger. The deadline passed without an incident, but then hope returned in the form of Paul Joyce.
The writer for The Times reported that the deal was still on after the deadline, and that a deal sheet had been turned in, granting the clubs more time to work out the details of the move, which were turning into a loan with an obligation to buy in the summer.
Evertonians were thrilled. Nothing against McNeil, but it was very clear that he wasn't a good fit for the current squad, and the price tag that Palace were willing to pay felt like a steal. Fine work by the Everton transfer committee.
A few hours later, however, everything came crashing down. The deal was off, with Everton indicating that Palace had pulled out of the deal. According to David Ornstein at The Athletic, McNeil had completed his medical, but Palace didn't complete the paperwork on time when attempting to shift the terms of the deal after the sale of Jean-Philippe Mateta fell through.
The problem with that is the Mateta deal fell through earlier in the day, long before Palace submitted the bid for McNeil, and certainly before agreeing to the deal sheet to extend the deadline.
The more likely outcome: Palace changed their minds and used an available loophole to pull out of the deal. The deal came too late for Everton to pivot, even though it doesn't feel like they necessarily needed to sell the player. The offer from Palace was too good to pass up.
Crystal Palace did Everton wrong on this deal. Maybe they realized it was an overpay, but the deal was already in place, so they should have already made that decision. Maybe, within the rules, they were allowed to do what they did, but it still feels like they ultimately did wrong by Everton in doing so.