Premier League sides West Ham United and Crystal Palace have reportedly opened talks to sign Burnley winger Dwight McNeil.
According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace and West Ham United have initiated talks with Burnley over a summer transfer for winger Dwight McNeil. The winger is said to be keen on a return to Premier League as well, with the Clarets suffering a drop to the Championship.
McNeil has been with Burnley since 2014 after joining them from the Manchester United youth team. The 22-year-old was promoted to the club’s first team in the 2017/18 season and has since made 147 appearances for them across all competitions, 134 of which have come in the Premier League.
Burnley, however, suffered relegation after finishing 18th in the Premier League last season, and the English winger is said to be keen on returning to the top-flight. With a rich experience under his belt and age on his side, both Crystal Palace and West Ham are eager to secure his signature.
But with two years remaining on his contract, Burnley are in a good position to negotiate a considerable transfer fee. The Clarets also have the option of extending his stay at the club by another year and are thus holding out for a sum in excess of £15 million for the winger.
?. Crystal Palace and West Ham are both in talks with Burnley over signing Dwight McNeil. ?️
They're likely demand a fee in excess of £15m. ? pic.twitter.com/SLQnv4oyAD
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) July 20, 2022
While West Ham and Crystal Palace are currently in the race to sign McNeil, Tottenham and Newcastle United have also shown interest. But they eventually decided to step out of the winger’s pursuit.
West Ham are also in the market for Jesse Lingard, who is now a free agent following the expiration of his contract with Manchester United last month. Lingard spent a solid six months with the London outfit on loan from the Red Devils in the second half of the 2020/21 season but returned to Old Trafford.
West Ham have since been keen to get Lingard on board permanently, but Manchester United were reluctant to let the attacker leave. However, with the 29-year-old now a free agent, the David Moyes-managed side are in a much better position to land the England international.
But West Ham will have to face competition from Nottingham Forest as the newly-promoted Premier League side have made a ‘substantial’ offer to Lingard, as per the aforementioned report. As for the pursuit of McNeil, it will be interesting to see if the Hammers can beat Crystal Palace in the £15 million race to sign him.
