Coventry City signing makes bold claims amid Zlatan Ibrahimovic harassment stories

Returning Coventry City defender Luis Binks has made a bold statement of intent, insisting automatic promotion to the top two is “not beyond us”.

The 22-year-old centre-back is now a full-fledged Sky Blue after Mark Robins upgraded his season-long loan from Italian club Bologna to a permanent deal this summer, joining for a fee of €2m (£1.7m). and signing a four-year contract.

In an in-depth chat with popular podcast 2 Brits 1 Yank, Binks spoke to Maidstone United pair Soloman Wanjau-Smith and Sam Bone, discussing everything from the “chicken bug” he gets from the Sky Blue Army and “madness” between City’s two FA Cup returns after being destroyed by Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a tough night against Dries Mertens.

READ MORE: Coventry City transfer coup as star man claims big summer decision

READ MORE: Coventry City ‘working hard’ to sign Sweden international ‘top priority’ in transfer window

Speaking about the first time he learned of City’s interest 12 months ago, he said: “I had heard of Coventry and I knew it was a big club but I didn’t realize how big until I got there. My dad said they were a huge club, but at my age all I knew about them was that they were in administration and using other reasons and other things. But now the club is in a different place; There’s a new owner and when I heard they came for me I said, “yeah, that’s where I want to go.”

Reflecting on his first 12 months at CBS Arena, he said: “It’s been a good season. Obviously Champ (Ionism) is so relentless. Growing up watching it, you think it’s such a tough league, but when you’re in it, you’re like, damn! You have three games a week, all different styles of play, different teams and traveling all over the country, but it’s a great league. I would say one of the top six leagues in the world.”

He added: “I think the fact that there’s no VAR definitely helps the league as well because it’s a lot looser. There are different styles of teams; as you could see last year with Leicester who play good football, Ipswich – obviously a great team who play a different style of football – and then teams like Southampton who play good football. And then you look at Millwall, Preston… They have everything in that league and literally anyone can beat anyone.

“Sheffield Wednesday were about seven points after 15 games or something and then they kind of stayed awake, which shows how upset they are.”

Regarding the atmosphere at CBS and what has now become the club’s pre-kick-off anthem, ‘Well Live and Die in these Towns’, he said: “There’s a song the fans sing before kick-off. It’s so cool! Every game you sit there and even though you know it’s coming, you still get goosebumps on the pitch. You know some fans (at other clubs) at the start of the game are up for it and then 20 minutes in silence, they’re not. For 90 minutes play, win, lose or draw.

“Sometimes the fans don’t turn up at the FA Cup, but Coventry were playing Maidstone, a team a few leagues down on a Wednesday night, and on the telly, you’d think some would only give them fair play, I guess. there were 26,000 more there.

“That’s what’s exciting for me too, because you want to go somewhere with a big stadium. There are a lot of clubs where they don’t fill it or the fans don’t create an atmosphere, but to be fair to Coventry, every away game last year sold out within minutes.”

Reflecting on City’s incredible run in the competition, Binks began with the “madness” of Molineux.

“We went 1-0 up and then they equalized and scored to make it 2-1 in something like the 88th minute and we’re just thinking, yeah, it’s done. And then I think it was the 92nd minute and we made it 2-2 and I thought we were going to extra time.

“They had a chance and their manager was like yelling at them to get to the corners, run down the clock to get to overtime so they can rebuild, or whatever. Then we went down the other end, put in a hopeless ball but it was a good touch from Ellis (Simms) and Haji (Wright) scored a great finish. And it didn’t really sink in. Everyone was running around the pitch, going crazy, thinking about playing at Wembley in the semi-finals.”

As for who he wanted next, he said: “I think I wanted United. Man City are a different animal, although I feel we could have given them a game, but I still wanted United, just because of how big they are as a club. Playing at Wembley alone is amazing, but playing Man United, the biggest club in the world…”

He added: “It all went so fast. You look forward to it and then it’s over. I traveled the day before and saw all the Coventry fans flying down the motorway. Wembley Way was a bit rowdy and the fans are down there drinking with their shirts on. And then game day comes and the fans were everywhere. We went up to the roof of the hotel and all the fans in this bar saw us and started singing. It was crazy.”

As for the game itself, where Binks started on the bench, he said: “We were 3-0 up and the manager called me over and said, ‘Just go and have fun, that’s it.’ So we went out there and went 3-1, and it was like a consolation. Then it was 3-2 and some of their players’ legs were starting to go; Rashford tried things and it didn’t come back and I was thinking, ‘we’ve got them’.

“And then all of a sudden there was a ball at the back post, I slipped and it hit Wan-Bissaka’s arm. It’s tough, but I ran screaming with my hand and the referee gave it. Calling for assistance at Wembley to win the pen!

“So it’s three and then we go into overtime and I just remember running up and saying, ‘They’re gone.’ Someone tackled Bruno Fernandes and he stayed down for ages. We brought in another winger and he kept beating Wan-Bissaka every time, McTominay couldn’t run though to be fair he was injured before the game, then Antony came on and didn’t big deal and I thought I got them.”

Describing Victor Torp’s goal disallowed due to a VAR offside decision against Wright in the build-up, Binks said: “I scored the fourth, which I still say is a goal. I ran, running behind the goal and smashing the balls off the cones into the crowd in celebration, then Bobby Thomas came up to me and said he was going to VAR. And I had forgotten about it because obviously we don’t usually play with it, so it’s not natural for me to think about it.

“I thought, ‘oh no, obviously there’s got to be something’, and then they didn’t give it. Honestly, the offside was less than an inch. It took about seven minutes and yet if you look at the Euros or the Champions League, it’s about 20 seconds.”

Speaking about his and his teammates’ feelings after the game, he added: “Everyone was gutted, obviously. Some lads had missed penalties but there was a feeling of what more could we do, coming so close. The fourth goal, he could have scored and nobody would have moaned. It was literally millimeters but we were proud, obviously we came back and beat Wolves before taking Man Utd to penalties.”

Binks revealed he turned up for a penalty, saying: “They asked who wanted a pen so I said, ‘I’ll have one’ and the manager came over with a piece of paper and I was sixth. I wasn’t going to argue and say I wanted to go fourth and disrupt him. I would have gone down the middle. The goalkeeper must be brave to stand still in front of 80,000.”

Regarding the scenes immediately after the final kick and City lost, he said: “I think some of the United players afterwards were embarrassed. Steve McClaren was on the pitch afterwards and he said to them: ‘Get in, get in now’ and their fans had just gone away. I was in the tunnel afterwards and there was a lot of press and the United players were disappointed.”

Asked about Antony’s unsportsmanlike gesture towards Coventry, he said: “I didn’t see it at the time because I was furthest away from them and as soon as I missed I think Maguire was first and he came straight at us and he came. and he shook our hands so only the guys who weren’t shaking hands noticed it.

“And it wasn’t until I got on the coach and I saw it on my phone and I was wondering when he did it. To be fair, Maguire, Dalot, Casemiro all came straight and shook hands.

“I have Maguire’s and Dalot’s shirts. I was floating around. I was in the tunnel and the player liaison woman for United asked if I was getting any of their shirts and I said yes Dalot and she went in and got them and then Maguire was there and I asked if I could I take his shirt. and he said yes. They had so many shirts and the guys were asking for Fernandes and Hojlund and the woman was just taking them out.

Turning to the upcoming season, the young midfielder was asked about his goals for 2024/25.

“For the club and for me, we want to go up,” he said confidently. “We’ve been in it and around it this year, but I think the cup run probably killed us because everyone was so invested in it. It was a big one and then we lost the next three or four games after that, which I think is a bit natural, coming after that and trying to get back into league mode.

“But this year we want to go up. I personally want to play as many games as possible and help the club rise because I honestly think we can. It is not beyond us to reach the top two, but at the very least to reach the top six.

“There is talent in that team. When I first went there I thought there might be some bad eggs in the locker room because there always are in clubs. But honestly, there isn’t one. When we go to lunch there are no cliques, everyone sits together. On the bus to the games it’s not like the three of them, the five of them and obviously that’s what the manager has implemented at the club so it’s a really good environment.”

And finally, asked who was the best player he played against in his time in Italy’s Serie A, he said: “Probably on the name, Ibrahimovic, but on the day, probably Dries Mertens at Napoli. He played like a 9 but he’s so small and he was falling all over the place making me run all over the place so it was a rough night.

“But Ibrahimovic was so strong and he was right next to my shoulder and when the ball was played I would turn around and he would do one to my back and to the side. He obviously knew I was young and thought he could target me. Every time it was changed, I knew it was coming and when I turned around, I felt a big shoulder coming into my cheek. But what a player!”

Do you agree with Binksy that City can finish in the automatic promotion places? Click HERE to have your say.