Motherwell captain Paul McGinn has said young defender Ewan Wilson has been ‘more impressive’ than wonderkid midfielder Lennon Miller.
Wilson and Miller are two of Motherwell’s best young talents with the latter certainly getting more of the attention of late.
18-year-old Miller has been linked with a move to Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool in recent weeks as a result of his eye-catching Premiership performances for the Steelmen.
Miller is undoubtedly the talk of the town, perhaps even the country at the moment. But McGinn has actually been more impressed by 20-year-old Wilson.
Wilson came through the ranks at Motherwell and has spent time out on loan with Albion Rovers, Stirling Albion and Beith Juniors over the last few seasons.
He dropped down to the West of Scotland Premier Division last season with Beith having played in the SPFL with Albion and Stirling.
But despite perhaps not getting the best out of his loan spells, Wilson kicked on in the summer and impressed Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell.
Incredibly, Wilson has gone on to start every single Premiership game this season, marking how big a turnaround it has been for the defender.
Ewan Wilson ‘more impressive’ than Lennon Miller
And that is why McGinn rates Wilson so much. Speaking to PLZ Soccer, the Motherwell skipper said: “Believe it or not, I’m probably more impressed with Dougie, or Ewan sorry, he gets nicknamed Dougie!
“Just in terms of Lennon, you sort of seen the things as a young boy whereas Ewan, he’s had a few blips.
“He went out on loan and never had the best time of it. And normally when you’re at an SPFL club, you need to go down (the leagues) and do really well.
“And he’s came back this summer looking like a different animal. Maybe it’s suited him playing up the leagues.
“I just think it’s so impressive that he went – I did it similar when I went to Dumbarton and I thought to myself, ‘I have to do really well and be one of our best players’.
“I had that way whereas he maybe didn’t get the luck with a manager or a team or whatever. But for him to come back from that I think is really impressive.”
Motherwell kid Ewan Wilson’s best attributes
The club offered Wilson a new one-year deal at the club in May, almost like a last chance saloon contract to prove his Motherwell credentials.
What Wilson probably didn’t expect was for Motherwell to offer him another extension months later, one that runs until the summer of 2027, again proving that Wilson knuckled down in the summer and showed signs of real potential.
This is how the official Motherwell website describes Wilson: “Using his strong and physical presence to see off opponents, he also has a burst of pace and flair to go past defenders.
“Often left as the last man, he uses his defensive prowess with timely tackles and interceptions thriving in 1v1 situations against the leagues best wide men.
“With a venomous shot and a composed final ball, Wilson continues to impress in both areas of the pitch as his first-team experience rises every week, with him yet to miss a minute of league action so far.”