The Scotland education Lennon Miller lapped up as Scott McTominay 'took a shine' to Motherwell prodigy
In-demand midfielder is ready to take his game to another level after mixing it with Scotland's best on international duty.
They say international football is an education for any young player. But for Lennon Miller the big breakthrough into the Scotland set-up has been a lesson in more than just the beautiful game.
Surrounded by players spread from the Canary Islands to the Middle East and everywhere in between it was an exercise in footballing cultures as well as foreign ways to master a match.
Mingling with Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Che Adams, Lewis Ferguson and Josh Doig it would be no surprise if the 18-year-old left the the latest camp fluent in Italian too,
It's a class of Scots that have excelled in Serie A with McTominay and Gilmour landing a gold star with Napoli in the season just ended.
And for Miller the chance to rub shoulders with five like-minded young men who took the step over the last three years and flourished wasn't to be missed.
This is a young man who has spent the vast majority of his life studying the game with a maturity beyond his years.
Now he's hungry to step up a grade, Miller made his Scotland debut as a second half sub in the 3-0 defeat to Greece at Hampden before producing a man of the match display, topped off with two assists, in his full debut as Liechtenstein were beaten 4-0 in Vaduz.
And according to dad Lee, the chance to feed off his peers in the Scotland camp had him skipping into the summer break with extra inspiration to try something new.
The former Scotland striker, who won three caps, said: 'Yeah, 100 per cent. Lennon sees them, he rubs shoulders with them in the Scotland squad and has done really well and thrived in that environment.
'He really liked his time away and I think Scott McTominay took a shine to him. He rubbed shoulders with him, bounced ideas off of him and played alongside him.
'Billy was great for him as well and I think Billy and Lennon complemented each other in the second game although everybody will say it's Liechtenstein.
'It wouldn't have mattered who Lennon played against in that game, he plays the same way.
'And that's a credit to him because a lot of young players go in and they shy away from it or they try something different away from their game.
'Steve Clarke said to him, 'play the way you play with Motherwell - that's why you're here'.
'Lennon done that. A lot of players will go 'Billy Gilmour's done this I need to try and do that'.
'It was mad because he looked so creative. That's just the way he plays, watching him from very, very young and he just plays as if he was playing in the playground.
'It's weird to say that, it might sound ridiculous. But I've watched him through the age groups and that's just the way he plays and he doesn't change for anybody.
'He's very coachable and has an understanding of the game and what needs done. So it was a great end to the season, the fact he's rubbing shoulders with all the best players in Scotland.'
Miller is expected to make his move over the next two months with suitors from Glasgow to Germany and England to France, Belgium and Italy.
It's a move to Serie A that appears to be the favourite among those watching the situation, for little more reason than the successes of the aforementioned quintet.
But it's hard to ignore the path Lewis Ferguson took, leaving Aberdeen three years ago at 22 to sign for Bologna and instantly becoming a regular, graduating to captain and topping it off with a stunning Coppa Italian victory last month, without imagining Miller doing something similar.
McTominay and Gilmour would no doubt welcome their new Scotland team mate at Napoli.
But Miller senior insists the right destination will be the one with the clearest pathway to regular football.
He said: 'Would he play at Napoli? I don't know if he would.
'That's alright saying Napoli's an incredible club, they've got amazing players. But that's when you need to look at where do you fit in to that?
'There needs to be a space that he fits in and is able to flourish and able to progress.
'That all comes down to pathways. Lewis Ferguson could have gone somewhere else and not been a starter and yes you can you can graft away and become that.
'But there needs to be an actual visual pathway for a player to do that.
'And a lot of players get lost in it. They go to a team thinking, 'right that's a massive club I can go there and I can flourish', and sometimes it comes down to the manager.
'The manager may just go 'nah you're not for me'. So everything needs to align and it's very difficult to do that, very difficult.
'But hopefully it'll happen and we'll see where it takes him.
'At the end of the day he's a Motherwell player and he's quite happy to go back in and graft away and do what he needs to do.'
As he prepares to enter his fourth season as a top team player it can be difficult to accept Miller is still just 18.
His old man couldn't be more proud. As he points out, the youngster has had a lot more to deal with than most his age, having lost his mother, Donna, when he was just five.
Asked if his meteoric rise has been a surprise, Miller senior said: 'Yes and no. I was told from a very early age he's special.
'I get goosebumps talking about it.
'Lennon's had a lot went on in his life. He's had a lot to deal with. But he's always had football as a release from everything.
'So I'm surprised how quickly it happened. But I always kind of knew his qualities.
'He's destined for the top, in my opinion.
'And that doesn't come from an arrogant place, it's just a belief in having seen him over the years and what he's done.
'Hopefully he gets that special move that allows him to go and kick on.'
*Lee Miller appeared courtesy of William Hill and the Warm-Up, SPFL Title Sponsor.
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