Sunderland enter race for rumoured Celtic target Lennon Miller

If Celtic do indeed hold an interest in luring Lennon Miller to the club, then they may have some strong competition from south of the border…

The young Motherwell midfielder is undoubtedly a top talent, and it appears the list of potential suitors has now extended to the Premier League, with The Scotsman today reporting that Miller has caught the attention of newly promoted EPL side Sunderland.

Rumoured fee for Miller has increased to £10m – we’re entering Arne Engels territory here

The fee mooted for signing Miller appears to be £10m which you would think would perhaps leave Celtic on the outside looking in, but the estimated transfer fee seems a bit excessive.

Despite having EPL riches from next season, Sunderland would perhaps be unlikely to shell out that sort of money on an 18-year-old who only has a year to run on his contract.

Motherwell hit the bar . — Lennon Miller of Motherwell hit the bar. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Indeed, recently it was reported Miller who has also been linked with Dortmund and Strasbourg, could be sold for as little as £4.5m with the Fir Park club keen to have a 25% sell-on fee included to ensure there was further profit to be made when Lennon makes a subsequent move in a few years’ time.

Celtic has been slow off the mark when it comes to Scottish talent

Celtic have been a little slow off the mark when it comes to Scottish talent and for some reason the club hasn’t been too keen to shell out for homegrown potential in recent years, missing out on the likes of Aaron Hickey, Lewis Ferguson and Josh Doig despite being linked with the players prior to all three initially moving to Italy.

Lennon Miller of Motherwell hit the post. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

In the case of Lennon Miller it has been hinted the player’s preference is to move abroad, but it has always been stated his priority is to move to a club where he will play first team football.

If Celtic can offer the player that, then this deal could still be done, although if Sunderland’s interest is genuine, I think all Celtic supporters know our place on the financial food chain doesn’t extend to competing with EPL wages.

Miller performed well for Scotland but quality of opposition was poor

Miller performed well over the course of two international matches for Scotland in recent days, although his best performance came in the win over Liechtenstein, and whilst a stand-out display, the performance should be tempered given the standard of opposition was extremely poor.

Lennon Miller challenges Greg Taylor — IMAGO / Shutterstock

What is certain is Lennon Miller at just 18 years of age has announced himself as Motherwell’s top talent in several years, is on the back of being named SWFA Young Player of the Year and is rapidly outgrowing his current club.

Celtic can offer Miller European football, hopefully in Champions League

Celtic and Champions League football may well be a wise next move for the player. And with Celtic rarely standing in the way of a player we can develop for a significant profit further down the line, Lennon Miller to Celtic makes sense, from both a footballing and financial perspective.

However, the interest from Sunderland brings back frustrating memories of losing out on John McGinn to Aston Villa. That was a decision Celtic have repented at our leisure; it would be a shame if we did the same this time around with Lennon Miller.

Niall J

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