Some people never get bored of transfer deadline day, even after it’s come and gone. They want to talk about nothing else—linking our players to other clubs, speculating about targets we didn’t sign and where they might end up.
It’s tedious. It’s tiresome. And in my view, it’s the mark of lazy journalism. Some of the stories have all the substance of wind. Sites desperate for content publish every single one of these rumours, including some that are fanciful to the point of absurdity.
One such story emerged overnight—that Lyon are supposedly willing to offer £8 million for Motherwell’s young midfielder, Lennon Miller.
Let’s ask the obvious question first: do we believe this? Is there any credibility to the idea that Lennon Miller could go to France for that kind of fee? I very much doubt it. I say frequently that a player is worth what the market thinks he’s worth, which begs the question—does this reflect an accurate market valuation for a young kid still playing in the Scottish Premiership?
It’s possible that one club out there might think he’s worth that kind of money, but that doesn’t mean it reflects a fair market value. Most would expect him to go for around £4-5 million—£8 million is a huge fee. And at that price, you have to ask yourself if Celtic could do better. The answer is obvious. Yes, we could.
At £4 million, you could make a case for Lennon Miller. That’s about what we paid for Scott Brown. And when you consider how long ago that was and adjust for inflation, £4 million would be a reasonable deal.
But at £8 million, you’d expect to see something special—unmistakable quality, the kind that was evident with Brown from the start. I’m not saying Miller isn’t a good player or that he doesn’t have the potential to reach that level, but it’s far from clear that you’d be getting value for money at that kind of fee.
Some might point to the amount we spent on Arne Engels. But he was playing in the Bundesliga before we signed him—not the SPFL. There’s a world of difference between justifying that fee and justifying £8 million for a player still developing in the Scottish league. And again, it comes back to the fundamental question: if you’re going to spend that kind of money on a midfielder, is there someone better out there for the same price? The answer is almost certainly yes. We were linked with several of them in the most recent two transfer windows.
Consider, too, that most people expect us to sign a striker in the summer and spend significant money on one. Do we really want to commit £8 million of the transfer budget to an SPFL-level player when there are other areas in the squad that need more urgent investment?
We might make one big-money signing, but I don’t think we’ll make two or three. And honestly, this team doesn’t need major surgery.
Keeping the squad together would be a huge boost in itself. With Tierney coming in, and if we manage to retain Jeffrey Schlupp, I only see a couple of areas needing improvement. Lennon Miller could be a good option in midfield—but only if the fee is realistic. And £8 million is not realistic.
Some have suggested he’d be a good replacement for Reo Hatate if we were to lose him. But he’s not the same type of player. And he’s certainly not as good as Reo. So, in a straight swap, you’d be weakening the team, particularly in terms of attacking options.
It feels like we’ve exhausted the English language talking about this lad. What’s clear is that if Celtic do want to sign him, we’ll have to pay a significant sum. But at some point, you run into the law of diminishing returns.
And if Lyon really do put £8 million on the Motherwell CEO’s desk, there should be no question of us matching it.
Yes, there will be talk about us “letting one get away,” and plenty of hand-wringing if he goes on to become a top player elsewhere. But that’s football. And from where we are, and where we’re trying to go, he’s just not worth that kind of money. Not yet, and maybe not ever.
We’ve been down this road before, signing players from Scottish clubs in the belief they’ll become top-class talents. David Turnbull had more obvious, natural ability than Lennon Miller appears to, and he was a better fit for our system—but ultimately, Turnbull was a letdown.
We always have to be mindful of that.
The right player at the right price—that’s the key. And once you go beyond the £4-5 million mark, Lennon Miller simply isn’t worth the outlay, or the risk.
Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images
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Aye, my thoughts exactly. I like the player, I rate him and in an ideal world I would like to see him signing for the Hoops, but definitely not for that imaginary, inflated price. Let’s wait until the Summer and take it from there, until then everything said about his situation is purely hypothetical.
I’d have thought £5m max would be Lennon Miller’s value. I don’t get the talk about him replacing Hatate, as James says they’re completely different players. I’d see him as more of an eventual replacement for Engels if he was to be sold on, as Miller is very similar in style but not at Engels’ level yet. The timing just seems a bit out to pay that sort of fee.
Any chairman gonna pay £8 million for Lennon Miller…
Motherwell should hire a private jet to his nearest airport –
Before he comes outta his coma !
Totally agree, he’s a good player but how good is still unclear, Lyon are definitely not paying £8m while Motherwell would definitely accept £5m so it’s a bullshit story. I can’t tell if he’s good enough for Celtic, if he does join then he must be but it won’t be £8m
We got a huge fee for Matt O’Riley for a player who made his mark playing in the SPFL and doing well in a small number of CL games. We need to be more positive about some of our home born players, that is a symptom of Scots having no belief which is why our national team has always failed. If he is developed properly and taught to believe in himself, why can’t he be as good as Engls. Why can’t Scottish players be worth the money. I agree with you about Turnbull but I don’t think lack of ability was his problem, he did not seem to have the drive and passion
We got a huge fee for Matt O’Riley for a player who made his mark playing in the SPFL and doing well in a small number of CL games. We need to be more positive about some of our home born players, that is a symptom of Scots having no belief which is why our national team has always failed. If he is developed properly and taught to believe in himself, why can’t he be as good as Engls or even better. Right now he looks like he could be a big player so why compare him to previous players. Why can’t Scottish players be worth the money. I agree with you about Turnbull but I don’t think lack of ability was his problem, he did not seem to have the drive and passion
Hey, remember we still have Nawrocki bought for 4m quid in our ranks. One of the most horrific transfer deals ever made by proper businessman lawwell
Miller seems to stand out at Motherwell as a decent player in pretty poor team in a poor league but really that’s where our look or interest should end. A £4m transfer is a decent price for a decent player. I’m not sure we’ve seen enough to warrant even that price tag. Turnball showed more promise and had the additional ability of scoring goals. Has Miller proven that he can add a similar tally to his passing strength. Right now I don’t think Miller could lace Hatate’s boots. I haven’t heard or seen any concrete evidence of a big bid or bids for Hatate and personally most of the negative talk I hear from some Celtic fans I brush aside as nonsense talk from fairweather fans that know next to nothing if they’re failing to see Hatate’s undoubted talent. Sure he could produce that high high level every week but then he wouldn’t be at Celtic if he did for sure. He simply can’t produce that for 90 mins over 50/60 games a season and no other midfielder in our team or squad has that exceptional ability.
There’s better value out there than £8m for Miller particularly when compared to McCowan.
I’m not of the opinion that we do need to spend significantly on another forward. Why when we already have one that’s shone brightly even on the CL playing field. I’d prefer another winger tbh as a replacement for Khun who I think will be sold particularly if he wants to go. Or alternatively as a squad rotation player unless he excels.
I’m still not convinced we’re strong enough at CDM and CB though. Sorry Cal. Brendan could push Cal further forward and get a stronger tackling CDM in and the midfield issue is resolved. I’m not convinced that Engels is that answer though BR does appear to be playing him slightly further back and his game is improving but there’s no need or place in our team for Miller at all.
As we progress I wonder if our thoughts of replacing CCV will come to the fore. Though maybe first we need to see if and how Trusty settles after the first season moves into the next. Getting greedy I am.
I see Big Bad John is saying that Celtic should pay whatever it takes to get Lennon Miller, that he is the best young player he has seen in many a long year. Praise indeed from the Big man.
I find that really surprising Johnny, unless BBJ can see something we can’t that justifies such a fee. As a friend of Luke McCowan’s family I watched him driving Dundee forward every match, providing goals and assists and winning the MOM award almost every week. So it was low risk to bring Luke in for £1M, compared to Lennon Miller for £5M, never mind £8M! I don’t see Lennon Miller influencing results at Motherwell in the way Luke did at Dundee, albeit they seem to have improved with his return from injury.
I realise we need to take into account that Lennon Miller is only 18, therefore a development player for the future.