Brendan Rodgers returned to Celtic to manage the club for a second time in the summer of 2023 when Ange Postecoglou decided to ditch Parkhead for the Premier League.
The Northern Irish head coach, who had left the Hoops to join Leicester City in 2019, enjoyed a fantastic first season back in Glasgow, winning the Scottish Premiership and the SFA Cup.
Celtic, despite already enjoying a successful campaign, backed Rodgers in the summer transfer window by signing the likes of Auston Trusty, Arne Engels, and Luke McCowan, as well as signing Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah on permanent deals.
That backing looks to have paid off because the Hoops are a SFA Cup final win over Aberdeen from winning the domestic treble, which would be an improvement on the 2023/24 campaign.
Celtic could, therefore, back Rodgers once again in the upcoming summer transfer window to bolster the squad even further, potentially with a view to going further in the Champions League.
One player who has been linked with a potential move to Parkhead ahead of the 2025/26 campaign is Lennon Miller, who is currently starring in the Premiership.
How much Lennon Miller could cost Celtic
Back in March, The Scottish Sun reported that Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise are working on a deal to sign the Motherwell star for a fee of £5m.
They are Brighton & Hove Albion’s sister club and the report claimed that the Premier League side view him as a long-term prospect and would want him to play European football with USG before making a move to the AMEX in the future.
The Scottish Sun added that both Celtic and Udinese had offers turned down by Motherwell for the Scotland international in the January transfer window.
Football Insider have since reported that the Hoops remain interested in a deal for Miller and are set to pursue him in the summer transfer window, which suggests that they could challenge USG for the £5m-rated star.
The Scottish star, dubbed Motherwell’s ‘Star Boy’ by the league’s official X account, has caught the eye with his impressive performances in the Premiership for his club at such a young age this season.
Miller, who only turns 19 in August, has showcased his quality in and out of possession in the middle of the park throughout the 2025/26 campaign, as a midfielder who can break up play as well as provide quality at the top end of the pitch.
Appearances
29
Goals
2
Big chances created
11
Assists
7
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.1
Ball recoveries per game
6.5
Duel success rate
52%
As you can see in the table above, the Motherwell star has been an excellent creator for Motherwell, with 11 ‘big chances’ created in 29 matches, whilst also being able to consistently break up opposition attacks with tackles, interceptions, and recoveries.
These statistics, for a player who is only 18, explain why he could be well worth the reported £5m transfer fee for Celtic, or any of the other clubs interested in signing him.
The Hoops, though, already have a central midfield player who is worth even more than the £5m that it would take to sign Miller, because the club have hit the jackpot with club captain Callum McGregor.
How much Callum McGregor is worth
The former Scotland international came up through the youth ranks at Parkhead before emerging as a first-team star for the club after a loan spell with Notts County in England.
McGregor first came into the senior set-up in the 2014/15 campaign, after that loan down south, and has gone on to rack up a staggering 514 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The left-footed star, who has won ten Premiership titles with the Scottish giants, is now the Celtic captain and an integral part of Rodgers’ team in the present day, at the age of 31.
McGregor was valued at just £127k by Transfermarkt at the time of his emergence in the first-team at Parkhead, and that value has soared significantly in the past 11 years, as shown in the table below.
May 2014
£127k
November 2015
£848k
August 2018
£1.7m
August 2019
£4.2m
July 2020
£5m
May 2021
£5.9m
December 2022
£6.7m
December 2023
£7.6m
December 2024
£6.3m
March 2025
£5.5m
The Scottish star’s value skyrocketed throughout his early career at Parkhead and peaked at £7.6m in 2023, but it has gone down slightly in the last couple of years.
That is not because of his performances, though, as he has naturally declined in value with age. There is not much sale value in a player who turns 32 this summer, which may be why his value has dropped down to £5.5m.
Despite his value having dropped in the last couple of years, McGregor is still worth £500k more than Lennon Miller, who is reportedly valued at £5m, which shows that Celtic have hit the jackpot with their captain.
They have struck gold with the central midfielder because he did not cost them a penny to sign, given that he came up through the academy, and has developed into an incredibly valuable asset and key player on the pitch.
In the 2024/25 campaign, McGregor has made 50 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops and is on course to lead the team to a treble, if they beat Aberdeen in the SFA Cup final.
The experienced star has also scored ten goals, including the one above, in those 50 matches, which shows that he has provided a big threat at the top end of the pitch from a midfield position.
Earlier this year, his Rodgers lauded his quality, saying: “He is such a unique player, the tempo setter for the team. He’s tactically so good, he really is a coach on the pitch.
“He sees all the pictures we want and he knows when to release himself to shoot or create goals. A wonderful player who is the glue for this team.”
This shows that McGregor remains an important player for the manager, given how often he has played this season, whilst also being more valuable than a midfielder the club are reportedly looking to sign this summer.
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Celtic have, therefore, hit the jackpot with the Scottish metronome, who is on course to spend his entire career at Parkhead, and they may hope that they can develop more players like him through the academy system in the years to come.