Coventry boss Iain Dowie has made winger Julian Gray his ninth signing of the summer on a free transfer from Birmingham.

The 27-year-old, who played under Dowie at Crystal Palace, has signed a two-year deal at the Ricoh Arena after being released by the Barclays Premier League newcomers in June.

Gray began his career as a trainee at Arsenal in 1996 before joining London rivals Palace for £500,000 in 2000.

After four years at Selhurst Park he moved to Blues on a free transfer and was a regular in Steve Bruce's side.

However, last season he struggled to dislodge former City star Gary McSheffrey from the starting XI and left St Andrews earlier this summer.

Dowie has already signed Dimitrios Konstantopoulos, Robbie Simpson, Ellery Cairo, Arjan De Zeeuw, Gary Borrowdale, Leon Best, Michael Hughes and Donovan Simmonds as he looks to challenge for promotion from the Coca-Cola Championship.