Another demon midfielder! Lennon Miller sets a record-breaking join Udinese, the next Serie A superstar?

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Lennon Miller has left Motherwell to join Serie A club Udinese; the youth training graduate has brought a club record transfer fee of about £4.7 million (including potential additional terms); Miller made his debut in 76 Motherwell appearances in 2022; he served as captain last season and received his first chance to play for the Scottish national team.

The teenager signed a five-year contract with Udinese and brought Motherwell a club-record transfer fee of about £4.7 million (including potential surcharges).

He made 76 appearances for the Iron Man (the Motherwell nickname), captained the team last season and made his Scottish national debut in June - at the age of 18, he has achieved more than most footballers.

Miller's obsession began in childhood—sincerely thanks to his father, Lee Miller, who was also a professional football player.

Lee Miller, who has played for teams such as Aberdeen, Harts and Middlesbrough, said his son's love for football was obvious from the beginning.

"He probably started playing football when he was only a few months old. Every time he got football, he got excited and that love continued from that time," he told Sky Sports.

"He was only six days old when I signed with Aberdeen, which made you feel old, but his mom insisted on taking him to every game I was involved in, and he focused on the game itself."

"He started studying the game since he was a kid and obviously fell in love with it. I remember when he was four, I played in Middlesbrough, and I made a corner flagpole for him because he wanted to practice corner kicking. We inserted it in the grass and he kept getting the corner kicking accurately, and he fell in love with football from day one."

"Lennon lost his mom when he was five. They were very close and did a lot of things together , It's hard, but now we have a very close connection, and he has a strong support network around him. "

" Football has always been something that keeps him away from all the tragedies and those negative thoughts. Once he stepped onto the training ground or the playing field, he would block everything in life because it was a huge tragedy to go through these at such a young age."

McFadden once played for Scotland 118 games

'Miller is different from all the other players on the field'

Motherwell legend James McFadden (James McFadden knows how to move to a bigger stage after attracting attention in northern Lanarkshire (Home Motherwell) - he once moved to Everton for £1.25 million in 2003.

The Sky Sports commentator has played for the national team with Lee Miller, and his son has played with Lennon Miller. All of this means McFadden has been paying particular attention to the development of the Udinese midfielder.

"My son is the same age as Lennon, so they competed with each other at 'Funfours' (a kind of children's football activity) at age five or six. Any parent will know what 'Funfours' looks like, usually the scene is messy, and Lennon is like 'stood out like a sore thumb'," he said.

"He is taller than many boys, but most of them are somersaulting, picking their noses, and looking around. Some kids aren't even that interested, which is normal, but Lennon has an incredible talent and looks effortless."

"The boy Motherwell fans saw later was the same as you saw at the time - dropping a shoulder and pinging the ball."

Miller showed his talent when he was in the youth team.

"He was different from all the other players on the court."

McFadden was not the only youth training graduate who brought a considerable transfer fee to Motherwell - David Turnbull Turnbull changed from burgundy amber (Motherwell jersey color) to Celtics' green and white striped shirt with a club record of £3.25 million at the time in 2020.

'He stands out as a crane'

Stuart Ogilvie has been a scout for Motherwell for decades, observing all the players up close. He also knew from the first time he met Miller, he was special.

"He was still playing for Cambusnethan Talbot at that time, against the Newlands Boys Club at an elementary school in Udinston," Ogelvey added.

"The first thing I noticed was that everything around him seemed hurry scurry, but he was so calm on the ball."

"He looked up and looked for the pass route, you know, he was stick out like a sore thumb."

"It was a sevens, he and Bailey Rice were in the midfield, both of whom were the best players of the age of Scotland, and they were so rapid that about 18 months later we started to let them jump to the higher ages to give them a bigger challenge, and both boys handled it very well."

Despite being high hopes since childhood, there are also promising young players in Scottish football who failed to successfully break into the first team.

Stevie Hammell replaced Miller in the 2022 League Cup against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, making him the youngest player in Motherwell's history at the age of 16 and 6 days.

Two months later the team experienced a head coach change, which means it was under Stuart Kettlewell that the midfielder really began to make his mark in the starting lineup.

"We soon knew that Lennon would be on the game," Keitelville said.

"You are never sure how long this performance will last, or whether it will last the whole season, but during his first season as a regular player, we feel that he is far superior to others in talent and maturity."

"There are many ways to influence the team, and sometimes people will see if you yell, growl, scream, and I think Lennon's talent is more about his influence on the court."

Miller's speculation about his future and high transfers have been going on for months before he became Motherwell's youngest captain last season, Miller's transfer to Udinese.

His father insisted that these speculations never became a problem and that his son has been focusing on the task at hand - trying to excel in the club and national team.

"He just wants to play football. Yes, he has the ambition to play football at the highest level, but he also knows how difficult it is to get there. He needs to go through a journey."

"I hope we can help him in this journey, and he also knows which direction he wants to move forward."

Added: Scottish players are pouring into Serie A in recent years - both intrinsic and in potential new stars like McTominay, and gradually breaking many historical records. "Transfer Market" shows that the top three players with the highest value in Scotland are all from Serie A, namely McTominay, Lewis Ferguson and Guilmore. In addition, Scots in Serie A include Che Adams of Turin and Doig of Sassuolo.

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