The international break is often a breeding ground for transfer stories involving Celtic and Lennon Miller is the latest name doing the rounds.
The Motherwell star has enjoyed an encouraging start to the campaign in an advanced midfield role, putting up four goals and three assists in 18 appearances this term.
Overnight, reports came to light that Celtic could have to pay £4 million for Lennon Miller amid further interest in his services from Rangers and Liverpool.
In any case, the Scotland Under-21 international leaving the Steelmen would involve a sum surpassing David Turnbull’s £3.25 million move to Parkhead.
For now, Fir Park remains his home as Celtic begin to put the wheels in motion ahead of the January transfer window. While speculation bubbles away, Simon Donnelly has delivered his verdict on the topic nobody can stop talking about.
Simon Donnelly on Celtic potentially signing Lennon Miller
Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, Donnelly believes Miller’s main priority will be first-team minutes regardless of where his future lies, but he didn’t rule out the possibility of the 18-year-old already being mature enough to challenge for a starting Celtic berth.
He explained: “I agree with Marv; he’s a super talent, the young lad. I’ve watched him two or three times this season already. I think he’s got a good background there with his dad and stuff; I think he’s quite grounded.
“That helps, mentality helps, but for his development he needs to still be playing. That’s not to say, you’re speculating that if Celtic were to buy him and let him play the season out with Motherwell, depending on how they kid develops, if he keeps going at this rate, who’s to say he wouldn’t be good enough?
“But it’s a really difficult part of the Celtic team to try and break into. As I say, I’m not ruling that out, but the important thing for the kid at the moment, my advice is you need to still be playing football week in week out because he’s developing at a great rate. It’ll be interesting to see because Motherwell won’t be able to keep him much longer if he keeps improving like this.”
Lennon Miller would fit in to Celtic’s midfield puzzle
Naturally, Celtic moving for Miller would create questions about the type of role he could potentially have under Brendan Rodgers. However, his prospective arrival would be majorly beneficial when looking at the long-term picture of the engine room.
Reo Hatate attracted transfer interest last summer and may opt for a new challenge at some point further down the line. Meanwhile, although it pains fans to hear it, but club captain Callum McGregor isn’t getting any younger in the grand scheme of things despite his remarkable consistency.
The problem some have had with Celtic’s recruitment over the years is the club haven’t always thought several steps ahead, so it would make sense to take a broader view regarding squad improvements.
Of course, there is always the avenue of trying to sign Miller before sending him back on loan to Fir Park to guarantee regular game-time, which may be the best scenario for everyone involved in this instance.
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