Rangers fans have their sights firmly set on the progress of Lennon Miller at Motherwell this season.
The 18-year-old midfielder is the Scottish Premiership’s brightest young talent and Rangers have reportedly been watching Miller since pre-season.
Charged with adding more goals and assists to his game from midfield this season, Lennon Miller has had an impressive start to the campaign at Fir Park in that regard.
But as the young Scotland talent reaches yet another milestone in his young career, it’ll have Gers fans pointing to one young talent in the Ibrox ranks whose progress has been stifled.
Lennon Miller reaches 50 games for Motherwell
Bailey Rice and Lennon Miller came through the Motherwell academy together and are both regarded as two of Scotland’s finest talents.
But the difference in essential first-team exposure for both players is increasingly stark, as Rice spends his days in the Rangers reserves and Miller continues to make headlines.
Two years ago Rangers convinced Bailey Rice of a route to first-team football at Ibrox with the midfielder turning down an offer from Motherwell to move to Auchenhowie.
In that space of time the 18-year-old has been limited to just three appearances for the Rangers first-team.
In contrast, Lennon Miller has now reached his 50th game for the Motherwell first-team as the Steelmen recorded an impressive 2-1 victory over Hibernian at the weekend.
The difference in progress between the two players is stark and Rangers might be wondering if the Bailey Rice situation is setting a poor example to would-be academy arrivals.
Bailey Rice made to wait for Rangers chance
If Rangers are serious about signing Lennon Miller, the club having missed out on a number of Scottish Premiership talents in recent seasons, they can expect to stump up.
Former Ibrox star Andy Halliday believes that it’ll take at least £4m to tempt Motherwell into parting with the teenager and also believes Miller would walk into the current Ibrox team.
That includes at the expense of Aberdeen’s Connor Barron, the cost of signing the midfielder this summer still subject to the threat of a tribunal.
For Miller’s development to be so stark in comparison to that of Bailey Rice, a player who was actually further along in his development when he arrived at Rangers, the Ibrox side’s approach is clearly flawed.
Bailey Rice remains highly thought of at Ibrox – Michael Beale famously said that ‘heck of a player’ Rice was ‘ready’ for the first-team as a 16-year-old – but first-team opportunities have been glaringly limited.
“I’m telling you that we have a heck of a player in Bailey Rice,” Beale said in September 2023.
“He’s not 17 until the end of next month but when I introduce him to this madhouse and protecting him is important.
“But I’m telling you, he’s ready.”
Philippe Clement was asked about Rice in December the same year and said that whilst Bailey is a ‘really talented player’ with a ‘big future’ at Ibrox, the midfielder is still lacking ‘without the ball’ at the top level.
But as Lennon Miller reaches the milestone of 50 games, Rice is left twiddling his thumbs.
The young Gers midfielder isn’t the only one either; Alex Lowry, Leon King, Adam Devine et al have come through in recent seasons and hit a brick wall.
The strides taken by Lennon Miller are in tandem with the increasing exposure to first-team football.
For watching young Scottish talent looking to make their name in national game, you get the feeling this will do little to convince them Rangers are an attractive option.
