Gillingham-born footballer Luis Binks made his first start in Italy’s top-flight Serie A at the weekend.

Binks is a former Howard School pupil and his mum works in the Gillingham FC ticket office but he was picked up by Tottenham Hotspurs at an early age. He went onto play for Canadian side Montreal before moving to Italy.

Now aged 20, the 6ft 3inch defender is playing for Bologna. As a kid he went to Twydall Primary School and was a season ticket holder at Gillingham. He has represented England up to under-19 level.

Binks played several games for Tottenham’s under-23s after rising through the ranks, including twice against Gillingham in the EFL Trophy, but moved to Canada to link up with Thierry Henry’s Montreal Impact. Both Bologna and Montreal have the same owner.

In late September Binks came off the bench in Bologna’s match against Empoli to make his debut for the club.

On Sunday he started against Udinese, a game that ended 1-1. His team sit eighth in the table sandwiched inbetween Juventus and Fiorentina.

Bologna play Italian giants AC Milan on Saturday.