It would be almost inconceivable that the 35m for Johnson was paid in one payment, probably like any deal with a structured payment, i would be surprised if we had even paid half, if Everton pick up the remaining payments on his deal, then it is like a 10/15m add on.
Ultimately, unless someone blabs, we'll never know.
What we do know, is that the club have acted decisively, and got in a left footer.
We know that Johnson was struggling to settle, and Sage has had a couple of weeks to form an opinion too.
We also know that Steve Parish doesn't throw money around for fun, so he's unlikely to have been shafted here. There will be details that make this attractive for both sides.
With contract length McNeil is probably worth 15m. Which as Lanzo said may be simular to what we paid up front for BJ. So may be a 'swap' with Everton picking up remaining payments.
Either way, McNeil is a very different type of profile to what we have. I think he'll fit in great.