'Not normal for a young guy' - Inside Lennon Miller's rise to Serie A amid comparisons to €28m man

Speak to anybody who's been around, played with or coached the latest Scottish export to Italy, and the timing is just like his style on the pitch. Calculated, precise and mapped out within an inch of its life. That is how the teenager dictated play in the Motherwell midfield, a club that has just sold him for a record-breaking fee, a place he’s called home since the age of seven and that has helped him deal with plenty that few his age have. He lost his mum, Donna, who passed in 2012 after having cancer. At five years old, Miller sought an escape in football and built a mentality that matured him beyond his formative years.

"That's probably one of the biggest aspects of his development, his mental side of it," said Fir Park academy director David Clarkson, who came across Miller at under-13 level. “His approach to his journey, his approach to progressing, how mature he's been from a young age. Even back then and that young, he had a level head on him. He's dealt with a lot through his life, and he was just so down to earth and so willing to learn and helpful. Probably mature beyond his years.”

How Lennon Miller made himself a top talent

It was clear before his Motherwell debut at the age of 16 against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in August 2022 that this was to be arguably the Steelmen’s hottest academy product. No mean feat from a system that's produced fellow Scotland internationalists James McFadden, David Turnbull, Max Johnston and many others. So when did the wider football audience get a whiff of what those in ML1 had sensed for years?

It wasn't a debut where he became the youngest-ever player in Motherwell’s 139-year history, not his senior Scotland bow, neither turning Celtic captain Callum McGregor inside-out with a roulette spin at the age of 17 or skippering Motherwell at Hampden against Rangers, but on a summer's day away at Elgin City. It had come about thanks to a Jamie Murphy summer. Never heard of that phenomenon? Allow this scribe to explain.

The ex-Brighton, Rangers and Hibs attacker plus current Ayr United veteran was an emerging Motherwell talent and netted his first goal during a 2-0 win away at Hibs in 2008. There was some doubt over his ability to handle the physical side of the game until he beefed up over that summer and went on to make 213 Motherwell appearances, becoming the club's record European goalscorer before moving to Sheffield United. So as Miller came back from his debut season with a demeanour that looked 26 and not 16, it set the scene for a breakout campaign two years ago, starting with a well-taken strike in victory at Borough Briggs.

"I think his face had even changed," former teammate Dan Casey recalled. “He just looked a bit older. I'm sure he put in a lot of work that off-season, because it definitely showed.”

"That kind of moment for me just stood out," Clarkson said of his goal on League Cup duty. “I think that moment for me was 'that's the boy.' Everything was there, and we'd seen it for years and just hoped he got the opportunity and hoped he did progress.”

Every press conference, every time a pundit discussed Motherwell, every time the club was brought up in passing conversation, Miller was the centre of it all. For Michael Wimmer arriving as Motherwell manager with zero Scottish football experience last February, he got very accustomed to the teenager before his hasty exit in May amid personal circumstances.

Enzo Millot comparison

Having managed at Austria Wien and coached in the Bundesliga with Augsburg then Stuttgart, he’s used to working alongside elite talent. Miller ranks in his five-man VIP club of players that includes Enzo Millot, Tottenham defender Kevin Danso, Juventus’ Argentine international Nico Gonzalez and Wolves forward Sasa Kalajdzic. If you’re not acquainted with French midfielder Millot, Stuttgart sold him days before Miller’s Udinese move at a cool price of €28 million to Saudi side Al-Ahli.

“Lennon is in the top five talents I've worked with,” said Wimmer, who now manages German third-tier side Jahn Regensburg. “In the six position to compare it with Lennon, it's perhaps Enzo who is similar to him. Lennon played without mistakes. If he had 100 passes, he completed 99 passes to the teammate. This is not normal for a young guy.”

Wycombe Wanderers defender Casey had a front-row seat to striker Evan Ferguson’s rise at Irish side Bohemians before switching to Brighton, now with Roma. He’ll be a keen observer of Udinese’s battles versus I Giallorossi this season in Italy’s top flight, but Miller’s emergence brought flashbacks while the Irishman was in Lanarkshire. The only thing Miller seemingly didn’t do at Motherwell was pull his weight in car schooling alongside Stephen O’Donnell and Calum Butcher. Given he was 16 when Casey shared one with him, it wasn’t too shocking.

“I think he actually got away with murder,” Casey joked. “Time went on, and I ended up not being in his car school, so he probably didn't have to drive much for me. I'll get some petrol money off him in the future! I've been around players that have been in high demand. With Lennon, it was sort of every transfer window that there were new names coming into the pot. I was with Evan Ferguson and he was breaking into the first team at 14 or 15. He was generational. He was so big at that age that he could actually break in at such a young age, which is crazy to think.

“He started coming up and training with us towards the end of my time there. I was only there for the last couple of months when he'd made his debut and stuff. I've obviously been with Lennon the last few years and I was even younger when I was with Evan. I was thinking to myself, these lads are breaking in at this age, they're going to go on to have serious careers. Both of them, I've no doubt, will do."

How will Lennon Miller fare in Serie A?

So what’s next for Scotland’s latest import to Italy after the likes of Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson and an ever-expanding list of Scots making their name abroad? Away from the bright lights of Milan, Rome and Turin with Udinese, who have been in the top flight since the 1995/1996 season, there will be an opportunity to grow into the superstar many hope he can be. Wimmer’s knowledge of new manager Kosta Runjaic from his time in Germany gives him confidence that Miller's short time working under his high-tempo tactics can prove beneficial to adapting abroad. Scottish football will hope he is correct.

"I think Udinese is a great club in Italy, I know the coach there and he also worked in Germany,” Wimmer added. “He stands for football, I think the football fits Lennon. He wants to play with intensity but also with control and with dynamics, so I think for Lennon it's similar to my football. I am sure that in three months, four months, Lennon will have the next level.”