Lennon Miller transfer bid from Udinese 'miles away' as Motherwell chief fires warning to interested clubs
Motherwell chief Brian Caldwell has told Udinese they are “miles away” from their valuation of Lennon Miller after booting out a £2.5million offer for the teenager.
Well are steeling themselves for a fresh bid from the Serie A outfit for the Scotland U-21 ace who is currently out injured with a fractured ankle. But Motherwell are holding out for what would be a club record fee, which would eclipse the £3.25m received from Celtic for David Turnbull five years ago. Udinese, sitting 10th in the Italian top tier, are expected to test the Steelmen’s resolve with another bid for the 18-year-old who deputised as captain earlier this season.
And Caldwell warned: “We’ve had a couple of offers from a club who are miles away from our valuation of Lennon Miller. We’re not desperate to sell the player. We’e always said from day one it has to be right for Lennon and right for the club.
“We’re not just going to accept any kind of offer for Lennon. Lennon is statistically I believe in the top seven players in the world for his age for midfield players. He is an exceptional talent, we all know that. If and when Lennon does move it will be for the right price for us and also the right one for Lennon Miller.
Miller is under contract for another 18 months in Lanarkshire and has become one of Scottish football’s hottest properties after coming through the Well Academy. With 63 top team appearances under his belt since making his debut two seasons ago the midfield playmaker has also caught the attention of Rangers and Celtic as well as a string of clubs south of the border.
Miller is expected to be sidelined until next month as he recovers from injury.Meanwhile, Caldwell expects Well to add more new faces this month to help ease the injury crisis at Fir Park.
He said: “There’s no doubt we need to try and help where we can. Stuart was always gong to try and bring numbers in to boost the squad. The injury situation has made it even more imperative we bring some new recruits in to help that squad get through.”
Motherwell crashed out of the Scottish Cup to the Premiership’s bottom side St Johnstone on Saturday with Kettlewell and his players facing stinging criticism from the 1700-strong away support in Perth.
But Caldwell reckons the broader picture is a positive one despite a crippling injury list.
He said: “It was great to see so many supporters at the game. Unfortunately the result wasn’t what any of us wanted or expected.
“It was a very disappointing day for us all on Saturday. No one more so than Stuart and his team who take it very harshly. It’s a difficult one to deal with because you want a cup run the same as we did in the League Cup for financial reasons as well.
“We came through a festive period which was a real tough run of games - Celtic away, Rangers at home, Hearts and Hibs away, Aberdeen at home.
“It took its toll, the injuries didn’t helped us. Some folk will say don’t make excuses but if you look at ours just now, with nine or 10 out injured, then five or six of them would be starting.
“I try and reflect on things., I looked at the table from 23 games last season and we are nine points better off. We have been in a cup semi final as well.
“Hopefully we can compete in the remaining games and stay in the top six.
“That’s our aim. From a budget view we are probably in the bottom three in the league so to be sitting fifth and nine points better off than this time last year is a positive. Albeit we want to be better all the time.”
