Triantis joined Sunderland from Central Coast Mariners two years ago but has only played five times for the Black Cats and spent the last 18 months on loan at Hibs.
The 22-year-old has been transformed into a holding midfielder in Scotland and has been a huge hit with Hibs, who are keen to make his stay permanent this summer, but are said to face competition from interested clubs in Europe.
Triantis still has two years to run on the contract he signed when he joined Sunderland two years ago, but would now find it even more challenging to break into the side following the Black Cats’ promotion to the Premier League.
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Regis Le Bris had a look at Triantis in pre-season last summer after taking charge but decided to sanction another loan move to Scotland.
Triantis has never played in midfield for Sunderland, who will look to strengthen in the middle of the park this summer as they plan for the top flight.
Triantis is now weighing up his next step, which led to him dropping out of the Australia squad ahead of this month’s crucial World Cup qualifiers against Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Boss Tony Popovic said: “I’m not too sure where it exactly sits. But we had him in the squad for the camp, and on the day that he was supposed to travel, he informed us that he’s not coming in.
“He just said he’s got a lot of things on at the moment, a lot on his mind in terms of what he wants to do. We have to respect that, and we’ll see what happens.”
Hibs sporting director Malky Mackay spoke openly at the end of the season about the Scottish Premiership’s desire to re-sign Triantis.
He said: “We love him – but unfortunately he’s not our player. So we’ll certainly be talking in chat to him and Sunderland over the next period.
“We’ve talked to them, we’ve been talking to them, but ultimately that’s not one that’s within our control. He’s one of a group of people that we want to try and co-ordinate, we want to try and extend; to keep at the club and there’s reasons why.
“You know, Nectar has done terrifically well at the football club. He came in as a centre-back for six months last season, and David looked at him near the end of the season and put him in midfield for a couple of games.
“We had a conversation over the summer about it, about maybe where Hibs’ failings had been. Certainly as a Ross County manager, playing against them, I thought they were a really good football team.
“But maybe at times they had a soft underbelly. It was something that I felt, certainly on the counter-attack, we needed to make sure we solidified that area. And we felt in the summer, David and myself, that Nectar could be the guy who could come back and actually hold down that central midfield position as somebody who can break up play and still be able to pass the ball.
“He’s a Sunderland player and that at the end of the day is what he is. He has attracted a lot of attention; he’s up for Player of the Year.”
Pressed on whether Hibs would prefer a permanent move or would be interested in a third loan for Triantis, Mackay said: “We would do both.”
