The former Derby County U23 captain joins The Blues after a year and a half with Gainsborough in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, where he made 33 appearances.

Minkley has primarily played at centre half for The Holy Blues and kept nine clean sheets in all competitions for Trinity.

Ahead of his first training session with Long Eaton on Tuesday evening, Minkley said “I can’t wait to get going, since meeting the gaffer and the lads, it's a great setup here.”

The second player to arrive from The Northolme this season, Minkley cited his former teammates from Gainsborough and Derby County as a key reason behind his arrival at Grange Park. “That was a massive pull for me,” Minkley added: “Obviously, I know Tom Cursons and I know a few of the lads from back at Derby [County] before that, so I'll settle in quite quickly.

“I’m pretty confident, I feel like I can handle myself at this level, I have experience in the division above.”

Bolstering The Blues’ backline, Minkley relishes the competition for places in defence. “Absolutely, competition for places — there’s nothing wrong with that. It pushes us all to be the best we can be.”

Ian Deakin described the signing as a coup and highlighted Minkley’s leadership, technical and defensive qualities. “Callum is a real top-player to be fair,” Deakin said: “it’s a big signing for our club. When players like that become available it’s hard not to want to get that over the line, so we’re delighted that he has chosen us.

“He came down to look at the setup, at the team, obviously had a good chat with myself and it feels like he is best-placed now to kick on from this point at this football club.”

Long Eaton United have conceded an average of 1.65 in the league so far this season (13th in the league for their defensive record), an element that Deakin focused on for improvement. “In that defensive area where we’ve conceded a lot of goals,” Deakin said: “it’s something we’ve highlighted as a management team and a player like Cal coming on board with his leadership qualities and his technical ability, he will bolster that area and bolster the team. He’s played professionally, been at the highest level and he has aspirations of getting back there.”

The Blues have fielded nine different combinations at centre half this season and with the signing of Minkley, there is the possibility for even more. Acknowledging this, Deakin said: “We've had a few different partnerships [in the defence] this season, just before Christmas we were in a good vein of form and I think it’s about finding that balance and that right partnership back there.”

Although, Deakin also mentioned the possibility of Minkley playing in midfield, referencing the defenders versatility. “Competition for places is good. The beauty with Cal is, as a younger player he played in midfield as a 10, so he could probably play in multiple positions. [We are] thinking about the long-term and building a squad, not just for this season but for next season.”

With the signing of Minkley, Deakin considered the additional flexibility it offered him in defence. “[Minkley] will be a real asset for us moving forward, along with the other lads we’ve got here already, we have some really good defenders. It might be a case now where we have options to play a back three or a back four depending on who we’re playing against and what pitch we’re playing on.”