I've watched Lennon Miller since he was 14 and Celtic interest doesn't surprise me as he's been doing this for years

Miller's former boss always knew he was destined for the top as he gets set for a massive summer

Graham Alexander always knew Lennon Miller was destined to become a Scotland star – because he played like a seasoned international at the age of 14.

Alexander will never forget heading to Hamilton one Friday night to catch a youth game in the early weeks of his Motherwell tenure.

The 40-cap ex-full-back watched as Miller ran the show with a midfield masterclass he’d never thought possible for a kid to produce.

Four-and-a-half years later Miller is set for a career-defining close season. He’s set to make a Scotland senior debut for Steve Clarke against Iceland or Liechtenstein.

Then there’s expected to be a major summer bidding war for his coveted signature.

None of these developments are a surprise to Alexander and long-time assistant Chris Lucketti after their first encounter with Miller.

Alexander said: “When we first came in, me and Chris watched Lennon in a youth team game against Hamilton. We didn’t know any of the players and hadn’t spoken to the youth team coach beforehand. We never asked, ’Who’s the best? Who’s this, who’s that?’ We just went along to watch it.

“And we couldn’t believe what we were seeing. We were desperate to know who that skinny kid was who ran the game. You just don’t get that very often.

“It was like, ‘How old is that lad?’ He was playing like a 30-year-old with 500 games under his belt.

“His decisions and how he played the game, I had just not seen that ever in a 14 or 15-year-old.

“All he had to do was physically develop. That’s all it was. Because he’s a slight lad but technically he was great.

“You see a bit of an uplift in some players compared to others but it was such a standout performance.

“We then understood and came to learn that was the norm for him, that it wasn’t a standout performance from Lennon. That was just him being him.”

Alexander was manager when Miller penned his first professional contract in June 2022 but he resigned two months later. Miller then became Motherwell’s youngest player just six days after his 16th birthday when ex-academy director Stevie Hammell handed him a debut.

Further managerial change failed to halt Miller’s brilliant progress and Hammell’s replacement manager Stuart Kettlewell awarded him the captaincy.

German coach Michael Wimmer then touted him for a lucrative move this summer before bringing a shock end to his brief Fir Park reign.

Alexander has kept track of Miller’s upward trajectory since he left Lanarkshire.

The Bradford boss, who has just celebrated promotion to League One, said: “It’s been great to see Lennon make his Motherwell debut then become captain and get in a Scotland squad.

“Chris and I sit in our office and when we see the news coming up on TV that he’s in the squad or linked with another big club, the reaction is, ‘Well, of course.’

“It’s not a surprise. We could see it from the very first time we saw him.

“I’d really look forward to seeing him play for Scotland. It was the same with Liam Kelly. He signed for Motherwell on the same day as me and Chris joined. Part of the challenge when we wanted to sign Kells was, ‘Play regularly and get in that Scotland squad.’

“I still keep in touch with him so when he made his international debut I was thrilled. It’s brilliant to see your former players make these achievements.

“Even though Lennon didn’t make his debut for us, we were in charge when he got his first pro contract.

“We have no skin in his development. He developed way before and after our time. But it’s still brilliant for us to see. Lennon is such a good lad with a great character who has done it the right way so far.

“He’s not seen the bright lights and jumped too early. He’s thought, ‘I want to play football.’ And he’s done plenty of that very impressively indeed.”

Miller’s magic has caught the eye of a host of top clubs including Celtic, Strasbourg and Udinese.

Scotland boss Clarke has stressed he hopes wherever Miller lands up for next season he continues to play regular football.

Alexander is confident that the prodigious talent and his proud family will select the next step in his career most carefully.

He said: “I wouldn’t say that we had a fight on our hands to keep him there as a pro but we knew there were loads of big clubs who wanted to take him at 16. I knew his dad because I played with him in the Scotland squad a few times and we had some good conversations.

“He’s got a great mentor there in Lee. He knows that, for his development, what wouldn’t have been good was going to a big club and not playing in the first team until 21.

“But getting in the Motherwell team at 16, 17 and 18, and getting 100 games under your belt as a teenager certainly was.

“They were quite clear on what they needed to do to progress, which was brilliant. Because that meant that opportunity was always going to happen at Motherwell and that we weren’t going to lose him.”