Scotland have taken over Italian football – and Lennon Miller hopes success in Serie A can take them to the World Cup this summer.
The 19-year-old is one of six players in Steve Clarke’s squad this season who play in Italy’s top flight.
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Scott McTominay is the star of an illustrious group of Scottish talent alongside his Napoli team-mate Billy Gilmour, Bologna’s Lewis Ferguson, Sassuolo’s Josh Doig, Torino striker Che Adams and now Miller.
“We played against Napoli a few weeks ago and I spoke to Scott McTominay,” the teenager told The Pitch Prospect Breakfast. “I also spoke to Che recently.
“They’ve only gotten a lot of praise for the league and stuff, which is good. And I’m just happy to be playing in a top league like that.”
The midfielder, the son of former Middlesbrough and Carlisle United striker Lee Miller, burst onto the scene as a teenager at Motherwell.
He joined the club’s academy at the age of seven, made his full debut at 16 and captained the club at 18, against Rangers in the 2024 Scottish League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
Miller reveals why Udinese
The club’s No.38 was called up to the Scotland senior squad for the first time in March last year and has been linked with both Old Firm and Liverpool sides.
However, in August he followed several of his compatriots to Italy after securing a £4.5million move to Serie A club Udinese.
Miller continued: “There were a lot of conversations. Obviously me, my agent, my parents and stuff.
“So we had to weigh up the pros and cons of all the measures. And obviously talked to a few guys who had moved here.
“It suited me in the long run and for the moment. So it was a good move.”
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Scotland takes over Italy
Miller made his first Serie A start of the season against Adams Torino earlier this month, with an all-Scottish affair now the order of the day.
In fact, the four-time international will feature in a Tartan Army double-header next month when Udinese face Sassuolo and then Bologna.
“Obviously a lot of young Scottish players have come to us and done really well.” Miller added to The Pitch Prospect.
“Apparently [Brentford defender] Aaron Hickey, who’s playing in the Premier League now, went to Bologna and stuff. So there are a lot of young players who get a chance and either go on to bigger and better things or win MVPs etc and get nominated for the Ballon d’Or. So no, that was obviously a big part of it.
“But I just want to be someone who can advance my career and achieve good results.”
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He continued: “Another reason was to learn another language because you never know when you might need it too.
“It obviously helps when you’re in a locker room and hear a new language every day.
“It was a big change, leaving home and moving to a completely different country. But it’s one that I really enjoyed.”
Accent problems? “Yeah, every single person in the building,” he joked. “I have to talk so much slower.
“We get one or two English boys who can understand me to some extent, but with everyone else I have to change my accent.
“I speak quickly and have a pretty strong Scottish accent, which is hard to understand as an English person. But the Italians need it slower.”
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World Cup hopes
An injury forced Miller out of the Scotland squad in November, which ultimately secured World Cup qualification for the tournament.
Nevertheless, he hit the ground running at the start of 2026, starting in his first two Serie A games in a row, in which Udinese remained unbeaten.
As he made his way onto the plane this summer, Miller said: “First I have to focus on the cup and get as many minutes as possible.
“Obviously I’ve started the last two games, which is nice. So no, I want to play as much as I can here.
“The dream is of course to go to the USA in the summer.”
Scotland begin their first World Cup campaign since 1998 against Haiti on June 14 before facing Morocco and Brazil in the tough Group C.