Coventry City might be forced to play waiting game despite Luis Binks reveal: View | OneFootball

The upcoming summer transfer window is likely to be crucial for the career of Luis Binks, who has been on loan at Coventry City throughout the 2023/24 campaign.

The defender has now returned to his parent club, Serie A outfit Bologna, with two years left on his deal with the Italian side.

His future, however, is far from certain, as he has made clear in the past that he wants to return to England and would be happy for that return to be with Coventry.

Sky Blues boss Mark Robins has also hinted that he is interested in seeing how the 22-year-old's situation progresses, but the length left on Binks' deal means that it may be a bit of a waiting game if negotiations are to commence.

Binks has made intention to leave Bologna clear

Binks joined the Italian club in the summer of 2020 from Canadian club Montreal, having spent his youth career with Tottenham Hotspur.

He signed a contract extension in 2022 that will see him tied to the club until 2026, before heading out on loan to Serie B side Como in the same summer.

Fast-forward 12 months, and he was back out on loan, this time to Coventry and closer to his birthplace, Gillingham.

Speaking to CoventryLive at the start of this year, Binks said: "In Italy it was great and I enjoyed my time there but I do want to come back to England and I haven’t thought about going back.

"I am not really thinking about Bologna or speaking to them. I feel like I am part of Coventry and just focused on trying to get promotion this year and getting in the team.

"I have got a few years left there but come the summer I will try to work something out."

The player's intentions could not be clearer, but that does not mean his parent club will let him go for nothing, and it could be a drawn-out saga trying to determine a price that works for everybody.

Coventry should be patient

Binks' signing would be a boost to Coventry's defensive numbers, and it is an acquisition that Sky Blues manager Robins has hinted would be a positive step in his eyes.

He told CoventryLive: "He’s a great lad who has been brilliant in the dressing room. The lads love him and he’s someone who we want to keep in touch with and see how things go. But that will come in the next bit, and depends on a number of factors."

The biggest of those factors will be the contract he still has left at Bologna, meaning that a transfer fee will be required to get him out of the club.

The 22-year-old's public declaration that he wants to leave will strengthen Coventry's negotiating position. Still, in terms of time remaining on the deal, the ball is in the Italian side's court, and they will not want to sell a promising young player on the cheap.

At the same time, paying wages to a player who has little prospect or desire of playing for the club again is not going to appeal to Bologna and, with his value decreasing as time on his deal runs down, the Sky Blues must take advantage of this and wait until late on in the window to strike a deal at the best price.

Binks did not feature every week this season, so he isn't a player they need through the door as soon as possible to plan their squad, but he is a player they'd like to try and develop. Delaying the purchase until the end of the window should have little impact on Coventry but could make the deal a lot easier from the buyers' perspective.

Binks did enough to show promise

Although he would have liked more significant time in the starting XI, the defender did still manage 23 appearances in all competitions for Coventry, which has clearly been enough for manager Robins to want to see more.

Binks did particularly well against Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, when he came off the bench just past the hour mark and put in a solid defensive shift against tough opposition.

It goes to show the levels that the former Spurs man may be capable of and Coventry appear keen to see if they can get him to that level.

It looks to be an expensive deal, but Coventry must bide their time and use all the negotiating cards they have up their sleeve to get this over the line at an acceptable price. The rewards could be well worth their patience.