Breaking down Lennon Miller, play by play

If you’ve never heard of Lennon Miller, now you have.

At just 18 years old, the Wishaw-born midfielder has already played 76 times for boyhood club Motherwell, racking up almost 6,000 minutes in the process. A significant chunk of those appearances were as captain. Last month, he was voted PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year for the 2024/25 season by his peers. Earlier this month, he made his first appearances for the senior Scotland team in friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein, becoming their second-youngest debutant in 63 years.

Unsurprisingly, such a burgeoning CV has attracted plenty of attention. There are a plethora of Scottish, English and continental clubs vying for his signature this summer: Celtic and Rangers, obviously, Sunderland and Southampton, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and RC Strasbourg – the list goes on and on, as it should. Prospects as experienced and impressive as Miller don’t come around all that often.

I added the 18-year-old to The Shortlist back in March, writing about his skillset:

“He has most of the fundamentals of a high-level midfielder. A solid physique gives him a head start, his dynamic passing ability is arguably his standout skill, and he plays with a sense of maturity and assurance that belies his age and experience.”

Having watched back his 25 minutes against Iceland, he showcased all three facets – and a few more. Below, I’ll break down each step-by-step, providing a little teaser of what to expect in an exciting future.

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First, the context: by the time Miller enters the pitch in the 68th minute, Scotland are 3-1 down. The patchy Hampden Park crowd is tetchy, bristling with pent-up frustration with the once-iconic Steve Clark. Even the BBC Scotland commentators are speaking in blunt and disparaging terms – ‘they haven’t got a clue’, and other jibes – about the state of this team.

“This is what the fans wanted to see, a debut for Lennon Miller” is the call from the same commentators as he jogs on to a hearty Hampden cheer.

Miller is already a silver lining. This debut has been anticipated since he received his first senior call-up back in March and probably an international break before that, when he was already a well-established starter for Motherwell. When you’re losing 3-1 at home to Iceland, getting the first glimpse of a highly-regarded future is a welcome escape.