Who is Nectarios Triantis? Sunderland transfer target close to joining Black Cats this summer

Sunderland are said to be closing in on the signing of Australian defender Nectarios Triantis - but what do we know about him?

The 20-year-old centre-back has two years left on his contract with A-League side Central Coast Mariners and has reportedly been a target for an array of European clubs.

We’ve taken a closer look at his situation:

What’s Triantis’ background?

The 2022/23 season has been a breakthrough year for Triantis, who joined Central Coast Mariners from Western Sydney Wanderers, where he had made just one senior appearance, last summer.

This campaign he has played regularly for the Mariners, making 25 appearances, and helped the club reach the A-League Grand Final following a second-place finish.

Triantis has also captained Australia’s under-20s side and has been tipped to become a fully-fledged international.

What’s been reported?

According to BEIN Sports, Sunderland have agreed a fee of around $500,000 for Triantis and have been tracking the defender for some time.

The centre-back is also said to have attracted interest from other clubs in Europe, including sides in France and Germany.

What type of player is he?

Triantis is said to be around 6 ft 2 but isn’t the most prolific in the air, winning 53.8% of his aerial duels during the 2022/23 A-League season (according to Wyscout).

The 20-year-old has excelled in one-on-one defensive duels, though, winning 71.6% of his total defensive duels during the last campaign.

Triantis is also a player who is comfortable stepping out of defence with the ball and looking for a forward pass.

During the 2022/23 season the centre-back averaged 19.22 forward passes per 90 minutes with a 73.6% completion rate.

What’s been said about him?

Triantis is held in high regard by Mariners head coach Nick Montgomery, who has placed trust in several young players this season.

When praising forward Garang Kuol, who has since signed for Newcastle, and striker Jason Cummings following a 3-0 win over Western Sydney Wanderers at the end of last year, Montgomery said:"It’s not just Garang and Jason, (there are other) future internationals for this team.

“Nectar Triantis, 19 years old, outstanding. Captain of the U20s, and tonight he just looked like he cruised through the game against some big visa players.”