Pundit claims signing Sunderland loanee Nectar Triantis must be 'priority' for club amid brilliant form

Ensuring that Sunderland loanee Nectar Triantis stays at Easter Road next season must be a “priority” for Hibernian over the coming months, according to pundit Michael Stewart.

The Australian has been in hugely impressive form this term, and after having made the transition from playing as a centre-back to an all-action midfielder, has helped his new club climb up to third in the Scottish Premiership table following an unbeaten run of 17 league matches. On a personal level, Triantis also received his first senior international call-up last month, and has registered three goals and five assists from the heart of midfield this season.

What has Michael Stewart said about Nectar Triantis’ Sunderland future?

Understandably, then, there are growing calls from north of the border for Hibernian to bring Triantis back to Easter Road in some capacity during the summer transfer window - as reflected by Stewart’s comments over the weekend.

On Sunday afternoon, Hibs thrashed Dundee 4-0, with the former midfielder on co-commentary duty for the clash. Praising Triantis, he said: “This man on the ball, Triantis, has continued to grow, improve and impress as the season has gone on in the middle of the park as well.”

Lead commentator Rory Hamilton then asked if it would be a “priority” for Hibs to try and get a deal done that would seal Triantis’ return in 2025/26, to which Stewart responded: “It will certainly be one of them. For me, David Gray or Malky Mackay will be looking at ways in which Triantis is at Easter Road next season. He has got great legs and technically I think he is a bit better than what you would initially think. He drives with the ball well and he has good close control. He has real good athleticism in the middle of the park.”

Speaking after the game about Hibernian’s ongoing unbeaten streak, Triantis himself told Premier Sports: “It is great history to be part of. It’s great to be part of this club at the moment. Long may it continue. Since November we have really just taken it game by game and not gotten ahead of ourselves. There’s no reason we should change.”

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What else has been said about Nectar Triantis?

Speaking recently about the Sunderland loanee, Hibs boss David Gray said: “When you think back to where he was at the start of the season, when he first came in, adapting to a new position, he's not played it for a very long time. And he's now managed to get himself into the national team playing in a different position.

“I've touched on a lot, his attributes and everything he does with that, I'm convinced he's going to be a top number six. He just needs to keep working and keep developing and he's got the right attitude and determination to keep doing that. So he's in a good place. We just need to make sure we see that coming out between now and the end of the season.”

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