‘We’ve had’ - British manager responds to Newcastle United transfer links to his player

Motherwell manager Steven Hammell has denied claims that Newcastle United have shown an interest in prising promising midfielder Lennon Miller away from the Scottish club.

The 16-year-old became his club’s youngest ever player last month when he made an appearance in a 4-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

Recent reports have subsequently linked the Magpies with a swoop for the teenager, with The Scottish Sun claiming that Eddie Howe’s side are “leading the race” to sign him.

But Hammell, who formerly worked as Motherwell’s academy director, has poured cold water on talk of Newcastle’s interest - for now, at least.

As quoted by the Daily Record, he said: “I’ve not heard anything.

“But I think every team in Scotland, England and even beyond will know of Lennon because of the player he is.

“We’ve had a number of approaches for Lennon over the last five or six years from all these teams in England and Scotland, and I know this because I was in control of that. So it’s nothing new for him.

“Have we had an approach for him now? No. Will that probably come one day? Potentially. But he understands and we understand he has a long way to go.

“He is just at the start of the next level of his development and nothing is a problem for him. He is the most humble boy you will meet. He just gets on with it. He has been training with the first team every day and he will play a part in the first team this season.

“He will probably play with the 18s on Friday, just to continue his minutes. But we will progress him at a rate where he will get better, but also safely.”