Rangers fans have their sights firmly fixed on the growth of Lennon Miller at Motherwell this season.
The best young player in the Scottish Premiership, Miller, 18, is a midfielder, and Rangers have apparently been following him since preseason.
Lennon Miller, who is expected to improve his midfield play this season by providing more assists and goals, is off to a strong start at Fir Park.
However, as the young Scottish player approaches yet another career turning point, supporters of the Gers will be pointing out a young player whose development has been stunted within the Ibrox ranks.
Lennon Miller plays for Motherwell in 50 games.
Both Lennon Miller and Bailey Rice attended the Motherwell Academy together and are recognised as two of Scotland’s greatest athletes.
However, with Miller continuing to garner attention and Rice spending his days in the Rangers reserves, the disparity in the two players’ crucial first-team experience is becoming more and more evident.
Bailey Rice rejected a move to Auchenhowie from Motherwell two years ago after Rangers persuaded him of a path to the first team at Ibrox.
The 18-year-old has only made three appearances for the Rangers first team during that period.
Conversely, Lennon Miller has now played in 50 games for the Motherwell first squad after the Steelmen defeated Hibernian 2-1 over the weekend.
Given the dramatic disparity in the two players’ progress, Rangers may be considering whether the Bailey Rice scenario is providing a bad example for potential academy recruits.
Bailey Rice waited for the Rangers’ opportunity.
Rangers could prepare to pay a premium if they are serious about signing Lennon Miller. In previous seasons, the club has missed out on some talented players from the Scottish Premiership.
Former Ibrox player Andy Halliday thinks Miller would join the current Ibrox squad and that it will take at least £4 million to persuade Motherwell to let go of the teenager.
This includes spending Connor Barron’s salary from Aberdeen, whose summer transfer fee is still pending a tribunal ruling.
The Ibrox side’s strategy is obviously incorrect for Miller’s development to be so starkly different from that of Bailey Rice, a player who was really further ahead in his development when he joined at Rangers.
While Michael Beale famously declared that Bailey Rice was a “heck of a player” and “ready” for the first team at the age of 16, Rice’s first-team opportunities have been conspicuously scarce. Despite this, Rice is still held in high regard at Ibrox.
In September 2023, Beale declared, “I’m telling you that we have a heck of a player in Bailey Rice.”
“Even though he won’t be 17 until the end of the following month, it will be crucial to protect him when I introduce him to this madhouse.”
“But trust me when I say that he’s ready.”
Philippe Clement was asked about Rice in December the same year and claimed that despite Bailey is a ‘really gifted player’ with a ‘big future’ at Ibrox, the midfielder is still lacking ‘without the ball’ at the top level.
But Rice is left scratching his head as Lennon Miller hits the 50-game mark.
The youthful midfielder for the Gers is not alone, either; in previous seasons, players like Alex Lowry, Leon King, Adam Devine, and others have succeeded until hitting a brick wall.
Lennon Miller’s advancements coincide with his growing exposure to football on the first squad.
It seems unlikely that this will persuade young Scottish talent hoping to break through in the national team that Rangers is a desirable option.
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