Lennon Miller

Lennon Miller
Personal information
Full name Lennon Lee Miller
Date of birth (2006-08-25) 25 August 2006 (age 18)
Place of birth Wishaw, Scotland
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Motherwell
Number 38[1]
Youth career
2014–2022 Motherwell
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Motherwell 38 (2)
International career‡
2021–2022 Scotland U16
2021–2023 Scotland U17 8 (0)
2023– Scotland U19 5 (0)
2024– Scotland U21 5 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:50, 28 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 17:55, 15 October 2024 (UTC)

Lennon Lee Miller (born 25 August 2006) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Motherwell.

Club career

Miller began his career in the youth system at Motherwell from the age of seven.[2] He made his senior debut as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 home victory over Inverness CT in the Scottish League Cup six days after his 16th birthday on 31 August 2022, becoming the youngest player in a major competition across the club's 136-year history.[3][4] He was an unused substitute for the first team for several fixtures during the 2022–23 season, with his first appearance in the Scottish Premiership coming in a 3–0 loss to Rangers on 28 December 2022.[2]

He started all of Motherwell's Premiership matches at the start of the 2023–24 season but was sent off for a last-man challenge in the eighth round of fixtures against Livingston.[5] He returned against Aberdeen on 1 November, but came off injured with a fractured patella assessed to rule him out of action for at least three months.[6] Two weeks later he agreed a contract extension, tying him to Motherwell until 2026.[7] Miller was nominated for the SFWA Young Player of the Year[8] and the PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year,[9] but lost out in both votes to his Scotland under-19 midfield partner, David Watson of Kilmarnock.[10]

International career

Miller made his debut for the Scotland under-16s aged 14 in August 2021 against England, in which he scored directly from the kick-off as play resumed at the start of the second half[11] – the strike was recorded on video, and was later awarded as the Goal of the Year in Scottish international football across all levels.[12] Miller played for Scotland under-17s in the 2022 UEFA European Under-17 Championship tournament held in Israel,[13] and was still young enough to take part again when the Scots also qualified for the 2023 tournament in Hungary.[14][2]

Personal life

Lennon is the son of former Scotland international footballer Lee Miller; his mother Donna died when he was five years old.[2][15] He has one older brother and two younger brothers. He attended Coltness High School in Wishaw, where his PE teacher rated Miller more highly than other future elite players he had seen as adolescents, including David Turnbull[11] who also emerged as a midfielder with Motherwell.[2]

Career statistics

As of match played on 27 October 2024[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] League Cup[b] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Motherwell 2022–23 Scottish Premiership 4 0 0 0 1 0 5 0
2023–24 25 0 2 0 5 2 32 2
2024–25 9 2 0 0 6 2 15 4
Career total 38 2 2 0 12 4 52 6
  1. ^ Includes Scottish Cup
  2. ^ Includes Scottish League Cup

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Lennon Miller, Motherwell FC. Retrieved 17 May 2023
  2. ^ a b c d e Canavan, Amy (16 May 2023). "Scotland Under-17s: Motherwell's Lennon Miller is playing to make late mum proud" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  3. ^ Thomson, Paul (6 September 2022). "Lennon Miller's historic debut written in the stars, says proud dad Lee Miller". Daily Record.
  4. ^ Gibson, Scott (20 January 2023). "Lennon Miller // The rising star". Motherwell F.C.
  5. ^ McGilvray, Andy (10 October 2023). "Kelly: Well kid Miller has wise head on his shoulders, red card won't affect him". Daily Record.
  6. ^ "Blow for Motherwell as Lennon Miller to miss rest of the year with injury". STV News. P. A. Media. 8 November 2023.
  7. ^ Thomson, Paul (15 November 2023). "Motherwell's Lennon Miller pens new deal in 'lift' for injured teen". Daily Record.
  8. ^ "David Watson wins Young Player of the Year". scottishfwa.com. SFWA. 12 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  9. ^ Alan Pattullo (4 May 2024). "PFA Scotland wonderkids can be 2034 World Cup stars as young player award marks 10 years since Andy Robertson". The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  10. ^ "Lawrence Shankland, David Watson & Rangers trio win PFA awards". BBC Sport. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b Thomson, Paul (25 August 2021). "Motherwell kid Lennon Miller's dream Scotland debut with England halfway goal". Daily Record.
  12. ^ Coyle, Andy (31 December 2021). "Teenager's halfway line strike against England voted goal of the year". STV News.
  13. ^ "Tournament Preview: Scotland Under-17s ready for elite round". www.scottishfa.co.uk. 22 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Scotland Under-17s prepare for EURO 2023 opener". www.scottishfa.co.uk. 11 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Lennon Miller: Motherwell teenager's rise from 'devastating' grief to Scotland's emerging star". BBC Sport. 31 October 2024.
  16. ^ Lennon Miller at Soccerway