Scotland star bulking up to compete like ‘physical beast’ Scott McTominay and learning from Ballon d’Or winners

Lennon Miller has been told by his Udinese manager that he has a good role model in Scott McTominay to reach the next level.

However, the 19-year-old revealed that he’s been picking up tips from another one of Europe’s elite midfielders in his first season in Italy.

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Miller is one of five Scottish players in Serie A who have been named in Steve Clarke’s squad for the March international break.

The teen, who has won four caps since his senior international debut last year, has started to find his feet at a critical point in the season.

The midfielder, the son of former EFL striker Lee Miller, burst onto the scene at Motherwell before joining Udinese for £4.5million in August.

He made just four Serie A appearances before Christmas, but has since played in all but one of the club’s 13 matches in 2026.

Miller registered his first assist in a 3-0 win over Fiorentina, a day before his talkSPORT chat for Udinese’s International Media event.

However, before that, his manager, Kosta Runjaić, was keen to heap praise on the strides the Scot has made since his arrival in Italy.

“First of all, I’m very happy that he made the decision to come to Udinese,” the manager exclusively told talkSPORT.com.

“I think it’s exactly the club which is good for young players, high-potential young players, for their next step.

“To adapt to a higher level, the league is a very competitive and tough league, and he has all the good conditions for developing here.

“So far, I’m not only happy, but I’m also surprised somehow that he adapted fast.

“It’s a very physically strong league, with a very defensive approach, man-to-man, and it’s not easy, especially for a young player from abroad, to adapt that fast.

“He’s an outstanding player for me, so far, the process, the development is really, really good.

“I think he will continue and get more and more minutes, and he will become, for sure, a regular player.”

On what the next stage of that development involves, Udinese boss Runjaić was keen to highlight McTominay’s transformation.

“He [Miller] has to work on physicality, yes, because it’s a very physical league, but in general, it’s not only here, it’s everywhere on the highest level.

“He has a good role model, for example, McTominay, who is playing in Napoli [and is] a physical beast.

“And Lennon knows this, he’s working very hard to get stronger, but he has some skills you can’t learn, so he’s a very talented player who has a very good game understanding, and a very technical player.
We like him, I like him, and I’m very curious about the next steps.”

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Miller’s halfway line goal vs England

Miller had already marked himself as one to watch in Scottish football on his debut for his country’s U16s after scoring from his own half

The then-15-year-old lobbed Arsenal goalkeeper Tommy Setford in a 3-2 defeat to England at St George’s Park in what was later voted the Tartan Army’s goal of the year in 2021.

“It was a weird one,” Miller reflected to talkSPORT.com. “Obviously, at the time, I think it was maybe 1-1, international debut, and it was just instinctive.

“I seen the goalie off his line, but I didn’t think of it at the time, like, oh, this might get millions of likes, whatever it got and stuff. I just attempted it, and obviously it went in.

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“After it, it was everywhere. My phone was kind of blowing up, which was weird. I think I was maybe 15, 16 at the time. It was pretty mental.”

So mental that his school friends actually took some convincing that Miller had actually scored because he didn’t initially have the video.

“It got clipped, and it was up on Instagram. I think we were on the bus back, and it was uploaded, and then I had to get it clipped to show I’d been to school and to prove that I’d actually done it.

“No [pals didn’t believe him at first], because it was alright telling them, ‘Ah, I’ve done this on my international debut,’ no chance. And then I had to get the clip and show them.

“It was a special moment, but one at the time I don’t think was as big as it probably was.”

Speaking of big, Miller was quick to agree with his new manager’s assessment that the next step for him would be to bulk up.

“Definitely,” he continued. “Obviously, coming in here, it’s a massive culture change in terms of all. The boys are bigger and more athletic.

“You need to get up to speed pretty quickly, and I’m in the gym maybe twice a day trying to get better physically.

“I feel like I’m getting there. Obviously, the league’s demanding, so I’m getting there with that. I feel like I’m getting better physically.”

But gym tips are far from the only benefit of coming across Serie A’s best midfielders up close; even if he’s not on the pitch.

Learning from Modric

Miller was an unused substitute for Udinese’s famous 2-1 win over Inter at San Siro at the start of the season, while he was introduced late on in a 3-0 loss to Milan as Luka Modric concluded a masterclass performance.

“It’s so historic, and everybody knows the San Siro. There are so many players that you come up against that have won Champions League, Ballon d’Or, you name it, they’ve done it.

“[You can be on the bench] and learn by watching their movements and what they do on the pitch. You pick up things.

Modric is someone still bossing the middle of the park after years of feeding the very best in Cristiano Ronaldo at Real Madrid.

“Yeah, exactly. You look at him at 40 years old, and he’s so good to watch, and there’s so many like him that are top, top quality.

“And when you come over here, you want to play against the best, and you definitely play against the best.”

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World Cup hopes

Miller, who admitted he’s swapped shirts with his Scotland teammates this season but nobody else will hope he will have a blue jersey of his own on the plane to north America this summer.

Injury saw him withdraw from Steve Clarke’s squad in November, which ultimately sealed World Cup qualification.

Yet Miller is now itching to make up for lost time this month, admitting it would be a dream come true to play in the tournament.

On his World Cup hopes, he admitted: “You dream of it as a young boy, and to have the opportunities is such a special feeling.

“It’s kind of going on in the background, but my main focus is playing here as much as I can and then getting into that next camp and then focusing on playing here again and then we’ll see what happens coming summer.

“But obviously it’s a dream come true to play in.”