Dwight McNeil joins EPL top 10 list becoming Everton’s reliable stalwart

There are plenty of household names on the all-time list of Premier League starts made before the age of 25.

Nine of the top 10 'young bucks' became established stars, winning major trophies and playing for England. Everyone knows the enduring achievements of Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Raheem Sterling, Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell, Declan Rice, Gareth Barry, James Milner and Emile Heskey.

But the other member of this elite group is more surprising. Dwight McNeil has never been capped at senior level and has spent almost his entire career in the bottom half of the table with Burnley and Everton.

But as he celebrates his 25th birthday on Friday, McNeil deserves huge respect having already registered 197 Premier League starts, often in difficult circumstances as a striker in a struggling team.

McNeil was almost 19 when he made his debut for Burnley against Manchester United in 2018 – considerably older than the likes of Rooney and Sterling when they broke through.

He has since made up for lost time. He almost never missed games (the vast majority with Sean Dyche as his manager) and earned ten caps for England under-21s.

Having built his reputation as a hard-working winger, McNeil has been handed the number 10 role at Goodison Park this season and no one at the club has surpassed his three goals and three assists this season.

To McNeil's credit, he has impressed in the world's toughest competition by overcoming serious challenges along the way.

Rejected by Manchester United at the age of 14, even Dyche admits he was surprised by McNeil's progress at Burnley.

An established £15m signing at Everton, the player also faced difficult family circumstances at the end of 2023 when girlfriend Megan required emergency surgery to have organs removed.

McNeil spent his time in hospital when he wasn't playing and has since admitted: 'What happened changed me as a person. I actually think for the better, because I had more responsibility.

“As bad as it was, I found ways to get positive things out of it, to care for someone I love.”

McNeil's father Matty was a lower-league striker for Macclesfield and Stockport, but Dwight's beautiful left foot marked him as a winger and he idolized Ryan Giggs.

He first joined United when he was five, but suffered the setback of being sacked for nine years. Ironically, James Garner was also at the club and now with him at Goodison Park.

“The coaches told my mom and dad I was being released and I found out I was going home in the car,” McNeil recalled.

'It was difficult for me to bear and my parents' main concern was that I was okay. I went to Burnley for a six week trial, the feeling was to try and prove the people who got the decision wrong.

'I think I did it. Burnley has helped me enormously. I was in the first team when I was seventeen and trained with people who were faster and stronger. Looking back, I have no regrets.'

Once he broke into Dyche's first team, McNeil was never away as The Clarets managed to maintain their top-flight status against all odds.

Even then, Dyche championed his player for England, although the ultimate accolade did not come.

“If he was in his early 20s he would play full seasons and still be under the radar,” the manager said. 'He wasn't even nominated for the PFA young player of the year, which I thought was impossible when he had played every game.

“When he was left out of England Under-21s, I would think they must have a good player who misses out on Dwight. He was an effective part of a team that finished 10th.”

McNeil's work ethic was the opposite of the stereotype of a fancy winger.

“The positive thing about Burnley not having the ball all the time is that he could see the defensive side of the game as well as any wide player in the league,” Dyche said.

'That honesty is of great value to managers. When you work for Pep Guardola you have to run like crazy. Never underestimate the power of that.”

Ironically, McNeil's only brief spell out of Burnley's XI came shortly before Dyche was sacked at Turf Moor. The club could not avoid relegation, but McNeil remained in the top division by securing a move to Everton, with Dyche joining him in January 2023.

By then, McNeil had matured and won over the Goodison Park fans, who were initially unconvinced when their club signed a winger from Burnley.

His outlook on life is reflected in the body art he has.

Beneath a detailed tattoo of Spiderman, McNeil has a lengthy quote from rapper Juice Wrld written on his right forearm: “999 represents… whatever struggle you go through and turn it into something positive.”

In terms of football, playing for Everton sometimes felt like an emergency. McNeil has helped them survive two nail-biting relegation battles and a points deduction.

Once criticized for a lack of final product, he is now one of the team's main creative outlets.

At the end of September, he single-handedly secured the team's first win of the season when his brilliant long-range curler and incisive volley secured a 2–1 win over Crystal Palace.

“It's about knowing where to be and your timing is important to influence games,” he says of his new position.

'Every time I've played centre-back I've enjoyed it because I feel like I'm always involved in the game.'

His dedication saw McNeil work on the technical aspects of his game over the summer, with his father standing by his side at Everton's Finch Farm training ground

'After every match my father tells me what I did well and what I didn't do well – and I always want to hear that. I want to be pushed,” he says.

'I also talked to Dom a lot [Calvert-Lewin] and the strikers in terms of what they want. As number 10, you are usually the one closest to it.'

This could be an exciting period for Everton, with a possible takeover of Dan Friedkin and a move to a new stadium both on the horizon.

As McNeil blows out his 25 candles, he will be aware that he has not reached the career heights of others on the all-time list, three of whom – Barry, Rooney and Lampard – also had Everton connections.

But the statistics don't lie. McNeil has proven himself as a mainstay in the Premier League as a young man and should be recognized as such. And the best may be yet to come.