Udinese move is the perfect step for Lennon Miller's development, says dad Lee Miller

Lennon Miller’s move to Udinese offers the perfect environment for the teenage midfielder to continue his rise in the game, according to his dad Lee.

The 18-year-old completed his move to the Serie A side this week, with Motherwell receiving a club record £4.5m for a player who came through their youth academy.

Miller leaves Fir Park after 76 appearances for Motherwell, having made his debut just days after his 16th birthday and already having played twice for Scotland.

His impressive performances saw him linked with a move to a bigger club from an early age but he and his family felt it was important for him to get regular first team football and continue developing until the time was right.

Lennon’s dad Lee knows the game well from over 20 years as a professional player with Aberdeen, Dundee United, Falkirk and others, and has been there to advise his son every step of the way.

He says the move to Italy is a huge step and while it’s tough for a parent to see their son move away, it’s the best possible move.

“It’s tough,” Lee Miller told STV.

“It’s tough but we know that he needs to do this and he needs to kick on and and go experience a different culture, a different lifestyle, a different way of playing.

“I mean, come on, this was a fantastic opportunity for him to go there and kick on in his career.”

Every transfer window in the past couple of years has brought links with big name clubs and Lee admits there were bigger names than even Udinese interested but the club felt right from the moment things got serious. He believes the city is an ideal place to get on with the work required to improve his game.

“I’m not gonna get into obviously the details, but there was a few really interested,” Lee said. “My wife, Lennon’s stepmum, and Lennon went over three weeks ago and were sold on it.

“It’s a perfect place environment for him to go and develop. It’s a quiet city where you can just knuckle down.

“No distractions. Knuckle down, get on with his business and hopefully take his career to the next level.

“And they were sold on the facilities. The stadium is hosting the PSG v Spurs Super Cup.

“It’s ‘wow’, a cracking stadium and a cracking training ground.

“He’s in a great place for his career.”

With a few teams vying for his signature, Udinese felt like the right choice and Lee said that a bigger team wouldn’t necessarily have been better at this point.

“It’s one of them where you get a feel for things,” he said. “They’ve always been there, they’ve always been interested.

“There’s the manager, he really likes the sporting director, and everybody about the place. It’s a real feel-good factor about the club itself.

“He just felt, as well as us, that it was the perfect step.

“Sometimes in careers, you can go too far. You can go to bigger steps and there were big clubs interested.

“But in my opinion, it wouldn’t have been the right move for him and he agreed with that as well.

“I’ve always kind of been on the same page with that and where his next step is and I think this is going to do him well.”