The hottest property in Scotland: Celtic could sign their next Christie

Celtic’s excellent season continues. On Saturday evening, the Hoops battled through to the Scottish Cup fifth round, overcoming Kilmarnock 2-1 at Parkhead, with Callum McGregor’s long-range strike breaking the deadlock, before Daizen Maeda stroked home the winner for the Parkhead side later on.

Meantime, Brendan Rodgers’ side are 13 points clear at the top of the Premiership, have already hoisted aloft the League Cup and are on course to reach the Champions League knockout stages, ahead of Wednesday’s crucial clash with the competition’s bottom side BSC Young Boys in Glasgow. What could go wrong?

Meantime, off the park, the Hoops are yet to make a January signing, but are chasing the hottest prospect in Scottish football right now.

Celtic could sign teenaged Premiership star

As reported by Steve Scott of Sky Sports, Motherwell have rejected a £2.5m bid from Serie A outfit Udinese for star midfielder Lennon Miller.

Back in November, John McGarry of the Daily Mail claimed that Celtic, as well as Rangers, are interested in Miller, a player he described as the “hottest property in Scottish football”, with Dominic McColgan adding that Motherwell are steadfast in their belief that their star man is worth £4m.

After joining Motherwell as an eight-year-old, Miller made his debut against Inverness Caley Thistle in August 2022, coming less than a week after his 16th birthday, making a total of 63 appearances for the Steelmen to date, scoring five goals and providing nine assists.

Back in November, with neither Paul McGinn nor Stephen O’Donnell available, he became the youngest captain in the Well’s 138-year history, leading the team out at Hampden no less for a League Cup semi-final against Rangers.

His father Lee is a well-known figure within Scottish football, having played for Falkirk, Hearts, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and others, winning three international caps, a tally the as-yet uncapped Lennon will surely surpass soon.

What Lennon Miller would bring to Celtic

As an 18-year-old scorer of two goals and supplier of six assists in just 19 SPFL games this term, the teenager would bring quality in abundance, notably in forward areas.

Such eye-catching form has led journalist Kenny Millar to describe the midfield maestro as “brilliant”, while former Birmingham, Everton and Motherwell midfielder James McFadden said on Sky Sports that he has “no doubt he’ll make the club a lot of money eventually”.

So, could Celtic be the club who pay big cash to secure his services?

Indeed, should this move go through, it would not be the first time Celtic have snapped up the most highly-rated young Scottish talent, and it certainly won’t be the last.

Here are some examples from the last decade:

As noted in the table, Celtic paid £3.25m for David Turnbull’s services five seasons ago, a club-record sale for Motherwell, who are seeking an even higher fee to sell Miller.

Despite the obvious club comparison to Turnbull, Miller is more stylistically similar to Ryan Christie, given that both are goal-scoring midfielders who are capable of arriving late into the box and scoring goals, while the pair also have a long-range strike on them.

Christie won nine major trophies during his time in Glasgow, scoring 42 goals and accumulating 44 assists in 151 appearances before being sold to Bournemouth in 2021.

Miller is even more highly-rated than Christie ever was at Caley Thistle, and could take his game to the next level, should he choose to join the Premiership champions.

 

 

 

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