Celtic were one of many clubs in the race for Lennon Miller.
Brendan Rodgers rated the 19-year-old highly, having seen him up close on several occasions over the last two seasons.
The midfielder broke into Steve Clarke’s Scotland side in a stellar 2024-25 campaign which saw him captain Motherwell despite his tender age.
And with a general recognition that he would depart Fir Park this summer, Celtic were widely linked with Miller.
He instead opted to move to Udinese in Serie A, and after making his debut for his new club, he lifted the lid on his thought process.
Lennon Miller admits interest from ‘a few clubs’ after Celtic links
Miller made his debut from the bench in a Serie A fixture against AC Milan which his new club lost 3-0.
He will be hoping to break into the starting side to help improve their fortunes.
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Speaking on Open Goal, he revealed what enamoured him about the club’s interest. Miller said: “There was obviously a few clubs interested, but Udinese had been there from the January. They’d made a bid in the January.
“So once you know they’ve made the bid in January, it’s like, ‘they really wanted me.’ And when they come back in the summer, it’s like, ‘These actually really want me here.’ They don’t just want me because I’ve got one year left on my deal.’
“They don’t just want me because I’m going to be cheaper than any other player. So that also played on my mind, and obviously coming here to see the place, the league’s obviously a massive part.”
It would have been great to have a Scottish wonderkid join Celtic’s ranks – but would he have played enough?
Lennon Miller may have struggled for game time at Celtic
The Hoops’ squad may be light in some areas, but midfield isn’t one of them.
If the teenager made the move to Parkhead, he would have faced direct competition from the likes of Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo.
That wouldn’t have been easy. There is no doubting that he has the talent to contribute for Celtic, but you can only keep so many players happy.
Miller instead goes to one of Europe’s top leagues, to a side who clearly were desperate to sign him. It’s an impressive career move.
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