Sunderland sporting director sees Hibs as 'unique opportunity' in 'strong league' for Triantis

Sunderland's sporting director has praised the development of Nectarios Triantis as he completes his loan move to Hibs.

Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman believes the club have made the right decision to loan Nectar Triantis to Hibs until the end of the season.

The move to the Scottish capital sees Triantis link up with his former Central Coast Mariners boss Nick Montgomery. Traintis played a total of 25 games in the A League last season for Montgomery’s old team as they finished in second position before ultimately winning the Final Series.

The 20-year-old’s form during this period caught the attention of Sunderland and he signed for the Wearside club in the summer just months before Montgomery’s move to Easter Road.

Triantis has struggled for game time at the Stadium of Light and has made just two league appearances in the Championship. Despite his lack of football, the Australian is believed to be progressing well in training in the North East and it understood by the Sunderland Echo that enquiries from Hibs were initially dismissed in January before the arrival of ex-Celtic defender Leo Hjelde from Leeds United.

The Hjelde transfer is believed to have opened the door for Triantis’s move to Hibs and Sunderland sporting director 

Speakman claims that the club is the perfect place for him to develop.

Speakman explained to the Sunderland Echo: "Nectar’s move to Sunderland last summer was a big step for him – professionally and personally – and we are really pleased with his progress.

"We were happy for him to remain at the club for the rest of the season, but felt this was a unique opportunity in a strong league at a club where he has existing relationships, which will only help him. He has a strong ambition to play regularly during the remainder of the campaign, which we fully support, and we hope this period concludes a really positive start to his time at Sunderland AFC.”

Montgomery has described the defender as a player with great potential and confirmed his long standing interest.

He explained: "I signed him for the Mariners and gave him his A-League debut as I saw huge potential in him. He was a mainstay in our Championship winning team before joining Sunderland in the summer. Although he might not have played much this summer, when he has featured, he’s performed well.

“We have been chasing Nectar for some time, and although we thought he’d remain at Sunderland, circumstances changed last night, and we made a move to bring him to Hibs.

“I’m really happy to bring Nectar to the Club and look forward to him meeting the players at HTC. He adds to the quality we’ve already brought in during this window.”

Hibs play host to St Mirren this weekend in a fixture which could mark the debuts of both Triantis and fellow deadline day signing Owen Bevan.