Brennan Johnson is determined to get back to his best form after swapping Crystal Palace for Everton in a move that sees Dwight McNeil head in the opposite direction.
Johnson has signed a four-year contract to join the Toffees and bring to an end a dismal seven-month spell at Palace, whom he only joined from Tottenham in January.
Despite lifting the Conference League in May, Johnson struggled for form at Palace and failed to find the back of the net once during his time at the club.
After a difficult period at Spurs - having finished the previous season as their top goalscorer in all competitions and netted the winner in the Europa League final - Johnson’s move to Palace was supposed to offer the Wales international a fresh start.
Johnson, though, struggled for confidence at Selhurst Park and saw the majority of his minutes come when Oliver Glasner rotated his side in the Premier League.
Palace’s priority in the second half of last season was Conference League glory. But Johnson played just 30 minutes from the quarter-final stage onwards and did not get off the bench as the Eagles beat Rayo Vallecano 1-0 in the final.
The 25-year-old will hope another change of scene can spark his career back to life, and he says he was impressed by the belief placed in him by Everton manager David Moyes.
“I'm so excited to be here. The club speaks for itself – it's a massive club and one that when I first heard of the interest, I immediately wanted to come and be part of it,” Johnson said.
"There were a lot of reasons why I was so keen to join – the manager, the players, the direction the team is going in. You can see this is a club that wants to go in the right direction, and I'm a player who wants to go in that direction, too, so it feels like a really good match.
"I want to come in and show what I can do. The manager spoke to me about getting back to the form that I've shown previously, and that's a massive thing for me – the fact he knows and believes in what I can do. For me, listening to him – a manager who is so experienced and someone who has been so successful – it was really nice to hear.”
