NEW Motherwell chairman Kyrk Macmillan has issued a hands-off warning to clubs interested in Steelmen star Lennon Miller.
The midfielder has been subject of increased interest with a series of stunning displays – just weeks after turning 18.
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Miller is under contract with the Lanarkshire club until 2026 but has been linked with Celtic and Rangers as well as being scouted by Southampton.
Pundits have already placed a £6m price-tag on the teen – amidst increasing rumours of £3.5m interest from the Old Firm.
However the Fir Park chief is not interested in doing business for the club’s current team captain just now.
MacMillan told Sky Sports: “Lennon’s done incredibly well since he came into the first team, obviously he’s now captain of the club over the last couple of matches, did it at Hampden as well for the semi-final.
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“I think ultimately it’s about Lennon’s growth journey and we want him to stay at Motherwell as long as possible.
“It’s great watching him every Saturday, he gets supporters excited and people are really excited to engage with him and his journey in football.
“There may come a time where Lennon decides, ‘I want to try something new in another environment‘, but ultimately we want to make his time at Motherwell as successful as it can be.
“That is who we are as a football club and that will be the same for Lennon as it will be, hopefully, for other players in the future as well.”
Well are far and away the team with the highest proportion of under-21 players playing regularly in the top flight.
Miller has already made more than 50 appearances for the Steelmen since making his debut two years ago – just six days past his 16th birthday.
And Macmillan is hopeful there will be plenty more to come despite social media buzz of an imminent January bid from Celtic.
However the chairman admits Well will cash in sometime.
He explained: “It is our model, ultimately.
“The club’s been successful with that in the past in terms of moving on younger players and being able to bring strong revenue to the football club.
“There has been no confirmed conversations as yet, but we’ll see what happens and we’ll take the appropriate kind of conversations at that time.”
Social media suggestions tipped Celtic to move for the midfielder earlier this week – and Clyde 1 pundit Cammy Bell claimed the £3.5m fee being mentioned was too small for the Well to consider.
Replying to a caller on the Superscoreboard midweek phone-in he said: “[The caller] started talking about £3 million but I don’t think Motherwell would be happy with that.
“Even the four or five he went to [mention].
“I think Celtic could absolutely afford him for sure but [the caller] talks about their business model. Does Lennon Miller fit into that?
“I genuinely think Motherwell could potentially get £7m or £8m for him. I really do.
“European teams will be looking at him – his age, the numbers he’s producing for – no disrespect – a Motherwell team.
“We’ve had a number of players move on from Scottish clubs to big clubs in Europe – so there is that interest in Scottish football at the moment.
“I think Celtic would have real competition on their hands trying to get him – and I think it would be a really good move for Celtic because he’s a top, top player and will become a better player.
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“I genuinely think he’s a £6m or £7m player – maybe not quite £8m.
“But does that fit into Celtic’s business model and do they think they can sell him on for £20m in three or four years?”
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