A boyhood dream was realised this week when Luis Binks took to the field for Spurs, but against the side he may end up playing for – Gillingham.

When Tottenham under 21s were drawn against Gillingham in the Checkatrade Trophy one of the Spurs squad started dreaming of playing against his home town club on the Priestfield pitch for the very first time.

But sadly, the state of the Priestfield pitch put paid to that, but still when seventeen year old Luis Binks came onto the Valley pitch late in Tuesday’s rearranged tie, it still was part of the Gillingham youngster’s boyhood dream…  and that of his Mum’s Jo and Dad Tom’s too.

Now if the name of Tom Binks rings a few bells with the Non-League fans from North Kent, then it should do as in Tom’s career he played over 350 games for Chatham Town and over 500 in Non-League in total.

KSN caught up with Tom after Luis’ appearance in midweek and we started by asking how proud Dad, Mum Jo and sister Isla were of the Tottenham number 73!

Tom laughed and said, “It was a very proud moment for Luis and our family. Gillingham has been an important part of our lives both personally and professionally. Just a shame it wasn’t at Priestfield.”

“Luis has an immense desire for the game and with his application and commitment he has been afforded opportunities which he has taken, but there is still a very long way to go before achieving anything.”

“We are his biggest fans (and critics) and follow Luis everywhere. We have been fortunate to experience some great times and seen great places through his football, so very happy to be a taxi driver.”

“One unfortunate scenario was when David Beckham was training at Spurs (under Harry Redknapp) and due to Luis “fuelling up” prior to training, we had to make an unscheduled stop.”

“This meant that whilst standing at the side of the road, he/we missed Beckham training and meeting people (I thought hydration was meant to be beneficial!)”

“Like any parent, we are proud of both Luis and Isla for everything they achieve and have achieved to date. It’s important that they both are happy and enjoy what they do, but ultimately are respectful as people. This for us is the biggest success. Luis has had some fantastic experiences playing football in countries all around the world.”

But how did he get to Tottenham KSN wondered? Tom told us, ”Luis was spotted by a Spurs scout at 6 years old and has now been there for 11 years having progressed through the Academy age groups.”

“Throughout the years it’s been extremely challenging, but the main thing is that he has kept his love for football and appreciated every training session and game.”

Luis has also played representative football at international level – for both Scotland and England – Tom explains, “Luis qualifies for Scotland through his grandad and represented them 6 times in 2016 and 2017 in the Victory Shield and winning a UEFA tournament.”

“England then selected him in March 2017 and he played the next 14 games leading up to the European Championships this summer.”

“He picked up a slight injury just prior to the tournament. He has just been selected to represent Scotland again and is eligible for both as they have all been international friendlies.”

“Only when it’s an official UEFA game would he need to commit!”

So what next for the 17 year old former Twydall Primary and Howard School pupil?

A very proud Dad told us, “Luis’ ultimate goal is to become a professional footballer and recognises how tough this is to achieve. He would naturally be proud to represent his home town club in the future…  but that’s up to the Manager to decide…”