Celtic may be able to make their ideal midfield signing for just £2m this summer

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Celtic’s inability to find a player either in the transfer window or within their own squad to replace Reo Hatate has been a bugbear of mine all season.

Brendan Rodgers has tried, and failed, to use the players at his disposal to fill that hole ever since the Japanese midfielder struggled with injury this season.

David Turnbull tried and although he contributed to goals, ultimately could not provide the dynamism that Hatate offers.

Odin Thiago Holm shows promise, but he’s just a raw talent still learning his game. Paulo Bernardo has also been deployed in that role but hasn’t found the consistency required to hold down the midfield place.

And finally, Tomoki Iwata was drafted this weekend but again the Japan international has struggled for gametime despite the glaring issues in midfield. But there is a player who could be available in the summer who could provide the answer to Rodgers’ midfield problem.

Lennon Miller could be an ideal signing for Celtic

We told yesterday how Charlie Mulgrew urged Celtic to sign the 17-year-old kid after his performance against Celtic on Sunday.

And on the basis of what Miller did against Celtic, it would be hard to argue against it. But ultimately, as it always does with Celtic, it will come down to price.

Just how much would Miller cost Celtic should the club have designs on looking at the youngster? Mark Guidi knows and it’s fair to say the price he quotes is a bargain.

Guidi said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I think I said last week in the programme that Motherwell will sell him for probably around £2m in this summer window and then certainly loan him back.

“I don’t know if Celtic or Rangers are interested. I genuinely don’t. I do know there’s at least four English Premier League clubs are interested in him and he’s high on their radar as his numbers are good.”

At just 17, Miller represents what we would call a ‘project signing’ but what can’t be denied is that the ability he already has makes him one of the hottest properties in Scottish football.

And who better for Miller to learn from than Celtic captain, Callum McGregor? The skipper would be an ideal role model and could mould the youngster into a complete midfielder with the aim of taking over that area of the pitch when the time comes for McGregor to hang up his boots.

Would Celtic spend £2m on Miller if push came to shove? Put it this way, they spent that much on Ismaila Soro and £1m more on Eboue Kouassi. Can they afford not to?

In other news, Pat Bonner says Celtic fans did something really ‘strange’ during the Motherwell game