“May be exactly what he needs” – Crystal Palace join race to sign Burnley winger: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Crystal Palace have joined the race to sign Burnley’s Dwight McNeil, according to the Daily Mail.

The winger has attracted Premier League interest elsewhere from the likes of West Ham.

Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on whether the 22-year old would be a good addition to Patrick Vieira’s squad…

Adam Jones

He didn’t have the most fruitful season in front of goal during the 2021/22 campaign and this is why they shouldn’t be looking to pay any more than £10m at this stage.

In fairness, he’s only 22 at this stage and has proven himself to be an asset in the Premier League in the past.

Palace are also good at recruiting exciting, young players with Michael Olise joining last summer and Malcolm Ebiowei arriving this summer, McNeil is arguably the type of player they should be looking at to fit in with their current strategy.

As mentioned, McNeil has already proven his worth in the top flight so although he isn’t the finished package just yet, he should have a sufficient amount of experience to hit the ground running at Selhurst Park.

Following the Clarets’ relegation, this may be the ideal time to sign him too.

Josh Cole

Although McNeill struggled with his consistency at times last season, he definitely possesses the talent that is required to play at the highest level.

With Burnley preparing for life in the Championship, it could be argued that a move to Palace may be exactly what he needs at this stage of his career.

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Having made 134 top-flight appearances for the Clarets, McNeil will fancy his chances of hitting the ground running at Selhurst Park.

Given that Vieira managed to nurture Connor Gallagher’s development during the previous term, he will be confident in his ability to get the very best out of McNeil if the winger makes the switch to Palace.

Marcus Ally

There is an element of unknown potential when it comes to Dwight McNeil, because the wideman has been playing regularly in a very defensive Burnley side for the last four seasons.

Palace are already well-stocked in wide areas, and therefore there are more sensible destinations for McNeil to select this summer if possible.

The 22-year-old clearly has a lot of potential and has proven himself as an effective chance creator at the level, but getting into the team in the first place could prove difficult.

Palace should probably be prioritising other positions as well, with Malcolm Ebiowei already arriving this summer to strengthen their ranks in wide areas.

With regular first team opportunities available at Turf Moor, it would not be mutually beneficial for him to join Palace at this stage of his career.