Rangers should jump at the chance to sign Motherwell wonderkid Lennon Miller after the Scottish Premiership sensation bamboozled Callum McGregor during Sunday’s clash with Celtic.
That is the view of Charlie Mulgrew, the former Scotland international in no doubt about the 17-year-old’s ability to make the step up at Rangers. Or, for that matter, the defender’s former employers Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers witnessed Lennon Miller’s talents at first-hand on Sunday. The Under-19 international left McGregor dazed and confused as he swivelled and danced his way through a challenge on the edge of the box before setting up Blair Spittal’s opener at Firhill.
A piece of balletic, almost Zidane-like brilliance Miller himself rather humbly describes as a ‘wee bit of trickery’.
Rangers or Celtic urged to make Lennon Miller move
“You see the effect he had on the game,” Mulgrew tells Sky Sports, his old club bouncing back from Miller’s sublime assist with a couple of late goals. “He’s like a man the way he plays. He is so clever.
“You see him asking for the keeper to take the goal kick up and flick it on like his dad (ex-Aberdee, Kilmarnock and Dundee United ace Lee Miller) used to do.
“What a player. He’s a level-headed boy and comes from a good family as well. If I was Celtic or Rangers, I would sign him now and have him in the team.
“What a player he is.”
Lennon has been described as Scotland’s answer to Steven Gerrard by some. A more fitting comparison, however, may be with Brighton’s ex-Rangers starlet Billy Gilmour, a player born in 2006 sharing his remarkable poise and composure up against far more experienced players.
But while Mulgrew has no qualms about Miller’s ability to make the step up to life at the Old Firm even before he turns 18, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon feels that patience is indeed a virtue.
‘A diamond’
Lennon insists that Miller, who is sitll relatively new to senior football, would benefit more from a career path similar to that of Lewis Ferguson, who has blossomed into one of Serie A’s finest midfielders after leaving Aberdeen after a number of years in the first-team picture.
“I think it will be good for him to get that development there (at Motherwell,” Lennon argues. “He’s in a good place, a good environment.
“He’s obviously a top talent. He’s a good size already for a 17-year-old. An elegant player and good with both feet. His assist for the goal was outstanding for someone of that age.
“They’ve got a diamond there and you just want to protect him and do what’s best for him. I agree, he’s probably best off just staying where his is. Everybody wants to run before they can walk.
“But another 50 or 60 games would do him the world of good.”
