COVENTRY City have announced the signing of defender Luis Binks on a season-long loan deal from Serie A side Bologna.
The 21-year-old centre-back will remain with the Sky Blues until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
City have now signed eight players in the summer window with Binks set to form part of a new-look defensive unit alongside Milan van Ewijk, Joel Latibeaudiere, Bobby Thomas and Jay Dasilva.
Binks said: “I’m really excited, it’s a big club with a big history and you saw what they did last season, it’s an exciting time to come to Coventry.
“It didn’t take long to decide at my end, as soon as I heard of the interest I wanted to come to Coventry.
“What they did last year was great and I think it has everything here to do that again and go one better.
“The league is a great league, especially this year. The manager here is very experienced and it will be great to work alongside him.
“Also, the fans, I’ve seen videos and pictures of the stadium and it looks like an enjoyable place to play.
“Moving to Canada when I was 18 wasn’t easy, but I wanted to go and play first team football.
“Then I spent the last few years in Italy and that has been great for me to learn that style of football and hopefully it will help me this season.
“I’ve been away for a few years now. I grew up in England and came through the academies here, it was always on my mind to one day come back and I think this is a good fit for me to come back.
“I want to help Coventry do as well as they can and for me, I want to play as well as I can and show everyone how good I can be.
“I’m a ball playing defender, I like to keep clean sheets, obviously I’m a defender that’s first and foremost.
“I like to have the ball and I like to lead, being young, that’s something I want to improve in this league especially with this squad and the experience they have here.”
Binks began his career in Tottenham Hotspur’s academy before signing professional terms with MLS side Montreal Impact in February 2020.
He made just eight appearances for the Canadian club before making the switch to Italian side Bologna in August that same year, returning to Impact on loan for the remainder of the 2020 MLS season.
After making a further 17 appearances for Montreal, Binks eventually debuted for Bologna in September and made 15 appearances in Serie A.
He spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan at Serie B side Como where he made 34 appearances and played alongside former Spain international and World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas.
The Gillingham-born defender has featured for England up to under-19 level and is eligible to play for Scotland.
