Sunderland provide update on Hibs transfer target as position change clue dropped amid summer pursuit
Hibs have been in hot pursuit of the star all summer and Sunderland have made a fresh decision.
Hibs’ pursuit of a long standing summer target looks set to continue as Sunderland take a closer look at the star.
The Easter Road side are gearing up for a Europa League qualifier with FC Midtjylland and want David Gray’s squad in fine fettle to tackle those clashes. He has been backed in the market as Thibault Klidje becomes their record signing, the striker joining after Josh Mulligan, Jamie McGrath and Raphael Sallinger’s arrivals.
Nectar Triantis shone in midfield last season for Gray as they marched to third place in the Premiership but is now back at Sunderland. He featured in a friendly against South Shields over the weekend and now it has been confirmed by the Premier League side that he is joining them for a pre season camp in Portugal over the next week.
Hibs transfer target position change
Intriguingly, having played as an engine room enforcer for Hibs, Sunderland have listed Triantis as a defender. That is where the Australian initially played when arriving for his first loan from Sunderland in the Nick Montgomery era but Gray sought to move him up the pitch to great effect. Triantis could get the chance to impress in friendlies against European regulars in Sevilla and Sporting Lisbon before Sunderland head to Edinburgh for Craig Gordon’s testimonial versus Hearts.
Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris said after the win against South Shields: “It was the sixth day of pre-season. It was more or less another training session for the group. We decided to split the group into two halves and give 22 players 45 minutes each. It’s all about the connection with the game. It was good, and the conditions were good.
“It is time to connect with the group. We built a strong culture last season and now it is time to welcome him (Habib) and to create references about his role on the grass and the connection he has to build to be competitive during the Premier League. It will take time, but we need to enjoy having new players in the building as well, because they reinforce the squad.
What Hibs have said about Nectar Triantis
“It was good to see Niall (Huggins), Jenson (Seelt) and Ahmed (Abdullahi) at the level today because they struggled last season with many injuries. When you are a player at their level, you want to play – but it wasn’t the case.
“They have the opportunity of a full pre-season, and we know it’s really important to build this foundation for the future, so it will be good to see them again.”
Gray recently said of Triantis: “His parent club have been promoted. He’ll be looking at options and what’s there and trying to impress there. Why would you not want to do that after doing so well out on loan? But we’re making sure we’re not singling one player for one position - and we have got our targets. Things can change and that’s the difficult job of the recruitment department. No immediate update. We made it clear how well he did here that we’d be interested. We’re always looking. We know the areas we still need to look at and we’re trying to improve so when the window closes, we’re in a stronger position.”