Celtic and Rangers have reportedly been told to stump up £4million to snap up Lennon Miller from Motherwell.
But the Glasgow giants may already know the answer from the wonderkid about where he sees his future – with dad Lee already dropping a major clue. The Fir Park talent continues to impress weekly under Stuart Kettlewell and recently took on the armband at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final in a major show of faith in the 18-year-old.
Reports now suggest that both Celtic and Rangers are considering moves for the youngster – but the Steelmen are looking to smash their record sale if the 18-year-old leaves Lanarkshire in the January window. The Steelmen bagged £3million from the Hoops for David Turnbull in 2020 and look set to surpass that figure for Miller – who has a contract at the Premiership club until 2026.
But ex-striker Lee – who played for the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts and Middlesbrough during his career – told PLZ Soccer in September that the youngster was focussed on a suitable environment to develop. Detailing how he turned down the Old Firm before, he said: “There has always been talk of Rangers and Celtic being in for Lennon, since he was 10 or 11 years old. We have always maintained ‘look, you are in the right place, you are thriving’ – and I think playing on a smile on your face and having people you trust and enjoy playing football with is really important.”
He also noted that first-team minutes was the most valuable thing to Miller at this stage of his career: “He’s not interested in going anywhere else right now in terms of he wants to rack up as many games as possible. Yeah, that time will probably come, and he wants to play at the highest level, Lennon.
“But I go through different scenarios with him all the time. ‘Think if this happened, this could happen’ in different situations. And he’s got ambition, he’s got massive ambition, he wants to be a Scottish international, play at the highest level. The way he’s going just now he will do that, but there’s no rush for that, and he understands that as well.”
But will Brendan Rodgers or Philippe Clement be able to guarantee the minutes Miller wants? It could be the difference maker for the talented teenager – and Craig Moore reckons the blue half of Glasgow could guarantee it.
He told Go Radio: “Lennon Miller has had a fantastic season and currently I think he could walk into the Rangers midfield area and continue to play there for his development [which] would be ongoing. Interesting time for Lennon Miller in terms of the decisions.
“There has got to be a lot of interest. It’s not just from Celtic and Rangers there are likely to be a lot of other interested clubs.
“But I think the benefit of playing games has been really crucial for him and he will look to find a similar situation where he is continuing to play matches. Motherwell are going to cash in at some stage whether that is January we will find out soon enough.”