Brendan Rodgers was a fan of the Scotland cap before he made the move to Serie A
Italian football insider Salvatore Bagni has declared that Lennon Miller DID make the the right move last summer by joining Udinese.
A host of clubs had been chasing a deal for the 18-year-old before Motherwell green lit a move to Serie A for the youngster.
Bologna had been among the rival Italian clubs chasing a deal while Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is understood to be a fan of Miller.
And the Scotland international had struggled for regular game time following the move – raising some flags back in his homeland if the correct choice had been made.
However, the wonderkid netted his first goal for his new club in the Coppa Italia win over Palermo last week on his first start – and followed it up with a 45-minute run out against Sassulo on Sunday.
Now Napoli legend Bagni – who had been a close ally of Diego Maradona – insists that Miller is on course to join his international teammates Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour among the elite of Italian football.
The 68-year-old told the Sunday Post: “The first thing I want to emphasise is that Lennon Miller is an excellent player. He has great vision and is always clean and precise in his passes.
“The fact that he was not getting time on the pitch at Udinese at the start of the season seemed natural to me.
“Lennon is very young and has come into a different environment. not only in terms of football, but in terms of lifestyle.
“Kosta Runjaic, the coach, was right to leave him alone; with time, he will get playing time and become a key player for the team.
“Even great, established champions need to get used to new situations, so it is more than normal that Lennon needed some time. But his qualities were not in question, and he proved that with his performance and goal against Palermo.
“When you see Gilmour score for Napoli also the wider recognition for McTominay, it has been a good week for Scots in Serie A.
“We see this too and I am sure Italian teams will continue to look to buy Scottish players, in January and beyond.
“They are known here for being mentally and physically strong, especially those who come to Sere A from the Premier League, a league much more demanding than our own.
“This is a time when the Scottish national team has notable talent: McTominay, Gilmour, (Lewis) Ferguson, (Andy) Robertson, and others.
“Where in the past they relied almost entirely on physicality. now they have the talent to cause problems for any team, even the strongest nations.”
Earlier this month, Miller admitted it has a learning curve after leaving Scottish football behind: “I’m learning what the boys do on and off the pitch and I’m just trying to learn as much I can from every single one of them. I feel like I’ve become a better player.”
