Dwight McNeil

Dwight McNeil

McNeil playing for Burnley in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Dwight James Matthew McNeil
Date of birth	(1999-11-22) 22 November 1999 (age 25)
Place of birth	Rochdale, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) [1]
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Everton
Number	7
Youth career
0000–2014	Manchester United
2014–2018	Burnley
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2018–2022	Burnley	134	(7)
2022–	Everton	84	(13)
International career
2019	England U20	6	(1)
2019–2021	England U21	10	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:41, 4 December 2024 (UTC)

Dwight James Matthew McNeil (born 22 November 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Everton.

Early life

McNeil (left) playing for Burnley in 2018

Dwight James Matthew McNeil ^[2] was born on 22 November 1999 ^[3] in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, to parents Tracy and Matty McNeil, who is a former professional footballer. ^[4] McNeil has two younger siblings, Baillie and Chiara, and he attended the Oasis Academy in Oldham. ^[5] He regularly watched his father play in non-League football for Hyde United and first started playing football at the JJB Sports centre in Trafford. ^[6] It was there that scouts from Bolton Wanderers pursued him for a trial, but after initial rejections from his parents, Bolton eventually got their way and he started training with them. ^[6]

Club career

Early career

At age five, he was offered the chance to join the academy at Manchester United, the club he supported as a child. ^[6] He stayed in the United academy until the age of 14 when he started struggling for game time and was subsequently released. ^[6]

Within a week of his release, McNeil went on trial at the Burnley Academy. ^[7] In July 2016, he was rewarded with a two-year scholarship and was a regular member of the under-18 squad and occasionally played for the Development Squad. ^[7] In February 2018, he travelled with the first-team squad for the Premier League match against Swansea City but failed to make the match-day squad. ^[8] On 10 April 2018, following the end of his scholarship, he signed a professional two-year contract with the option of a third year in the club's favour. ^[9] On 13 May 2018, he made his first-team debut in the final match of the 2017–18 season when he replaced Aaron Lennon as a late substitute in the 2–1 home defeat to AFC Bournemouth. ^[10] McNeil scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against West Ham United on 30 December 2018. ^[11] On 16 October 2020, McNeil signed a new long-term contract at Burnley, keeping him at the club until 2024. ^[12]

Everton

On 28 July 2022, McNeil signed for Premier League club Everton on a five-year contract. ^[13] Burnley and Everton came to an agreement for a transfer fee reportedly in the region of £20 million, including potential add-ons. ^[14] On 6 August, McNeil made his debut for the club in a 1–0 loss against Chelsea in the Premier League. ^[15] On 1 October 2022, McNeil scored his first goal for Everton in a 2–1 away win over Southampton. ^[16] On 28 September 2024 McNeil scored a brace against Crystal Palace FC, helping Everton defeat Crystal Palace 2–1 to get the club's first win of the season. ^[17]

International career

In March 2019, McNeil received his first call-up for the England national under-20 team ahead of 2018–19 Under 20 Elite League fixtures against Poland and Portugal. ^[18] McNeil made his debut as a starter in a 3–1 defeat to Poland at St George's Park. ^[19] In May 2019, he was included in the U20 squad for the 2019 Toulon Tournament ^[20] and scored his first international goal during the 4–0 victory over Guatemala on 11 June 2019. ^[21]

On 30 August 2019, McNeil was included in the England under-21 team for the first time. ^[22] He eventually made his debut in a 2–2 draw against Slovenia in Maribor on 11 October. ^[23]

On 15 March 2021, McNeil was called up for the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship in Slovenia and Hungary. ^{[24] [25]}

Personal life

He is of Jamaican descent. ^[26]

Career statistics

As of match played 4 December 2024

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		EFL Cup		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Burnley	2017–18 [27]	Premier League	1	0	0	0	0	0	—		1	0
	2018–19 [28]	Premier League	21	3	2	0	1	0	2 [a]	0	26	3
	2019–20 [29]	Premier League	38	2	1	0	1	0	—		40	2
	2020–21 [30]	Premier League	36	2	2	0	2	0	—		40	2
	2021–22 [31]	Premier League	38	0	0	0	2	0	—		40	0
	Total		134	7	5	0	6	0	2	0	147	7
Everton	2022–23 [32]	Premier League	36	7	1	0	2	0	—		39	7
	2023–24 [33]	Premier League	35	3	3	0	3	0	—		41	3
	2024–25 [34]	Premier League	13	3	0	0	2	1	—		15	4
	Total		84	13	4	0	7	1	—		95	14
Career total			218	20	9	0	13	1	2	0	242	21

1. Appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Individual

• Burnley Youth Team Player of the Year: 2017–18 ^[35]
• Everton Young Player of the Season: 2022–23 ^[36]

References

1. "Dwight McNeil: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
2. "Premier League clubs publish retained lists". Premier League. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
3. "Dwight McNeil". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
4. "Dream Day For Goalscorer McNeil". Burnley F.C. 31 December 2018. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
5. Black, Dan (22 April 2020). "The story of Burnley winger Dwight McNeil: Growing up as a footballer's son, his home life and the reason why he's so good on FIFA 20!". Burnley Express. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
6. Marshall, Tyrone (20 January 2020). "Dwight McNeil exclusive: Burnley winger on Manchester United release, Brandon Williams and Mason Greenwood". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
7. "Burnley profile". Burnley F.C. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
8. Marshall, Tyrone (21 February 2018). "Clarets youngster McNeil wants more after first team taster". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
9. Marshall, Tyrone (10 April 2018). "Burnley prospects sign professional deals". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
10. "Burnley 1 Bournemouth 2". Burnley F.C. 13 May 2018. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
11. "Burnley manager Sean Dyche says a couple of "big decisions" in his team selection contributed to a vital win over West Ham at Turf Moor". BBC Sport.
12. "McNeil Signs New Turf Moor Deal".
13. "Everton complete McNeil signing". Everton FC. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
14. Ornstein, David; Jones, Andy (27 July 2022). "Everton reach total agreement with Burnley for Dwight McNeil". The Athletic. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
15. "Everton 0-1 Chelsea". Sky Sports. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
16. "Southampton 1-2 Everton". BBC Sport. 1 October 2022.
17. Hunter, Andy. "McNeil's stunning double earns Everton first win of season against Crystal Palace". The Observer.
18. "Paul Simpson Has Picked His England U20s Squad For Games With Poland and Portugal". The Football Association. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
19. "Paul Simpson's Young Lions Suffer Defeat Against Poland at St. George's Park". The Football Association. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
20. "ENGLAND MU20S SQUAD NAMED BY PAUL SIMPSON FOR MAURICE REVELLO TOURNAMENT IN FRANCE". The Football Association. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
21. "YOUNG LIONS END MAURICE REVELLO TOURNAMENT WITH A CONVINCING WIN OVER GUATEMALA". The Football Association. 11 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
22. "ENGLAND U21S KICK-OFF A NEW CAMPAIGN AND AIDY BOOTHROYD HAS PICKED HIS SQUAD". The Football Association. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
23. "GOALS FROM EDDIE NKETIAH AND SAM SURRIDGE CANCELLED OUT AS YOUNG LIONS TIE IN MARIBOR". The Football Association. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
24. "England MU21 squad named for UEFA U21 Euro Group Stages un Slovenia". The Football Association. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
25. "McNeil Gets Euros Call". Burnley F.C. 15 March 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
26. Stead, Matt (14 March 2024). "The multinational players eligible for England and other countries includes Mainoo". Football365. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
27. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
28. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
29. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
30. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
31. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
32. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
33. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 April 2024.
34. "Games played by Dwight McNeil in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
35. @BurnleyOfficial (7 May 2018). "This season's youth team player of the year, sponsored by @Blisscharity is Dwight McNeil. 👏🏻🏆" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 January 2024– via Twitter.
36. "Everton Award Winners Revealed". Everton F.C. 2 June 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

External links

• Profile at the Everton F.C. website
• Dwight McNeil – UEFA competition record ( archive )