Nectar Triantis has enjoyed a superb season on loan at Hibs

Hibernian Sporting Director Malky Mackay has confirmed that the club will try and sign Nectar Triantis this summer - and has said he believes they could have the resource to conclude a permanent deal.

Triantis has been a revelation playing as a defensive midfielder in Edinburgh this season, and a key part of the team that has finished third in the top tier of Scottish football. Hibs will be competing in Europe next season as a result and Mackay has confirmed that he has held talks with Sunderland about bringing the 22-year-old back to Easter Road.

“You know, Nectar has done terrifically well at the football club," Mackay told the Scottish Football Social 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," he added.

"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 had a terrific season, he's been called up for two countries now, I believe. He's been called up for Greece and Australia. 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. We love him - but unfortunately he's not our player. So we'll certainly be talking to 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.

Mackay said he believed that the club could be in the race to secure a permanent deal thanks to the financial backing of their owners Black Knights Group, who also boast Bournemouth in their portfolio of clubs. A win for Celtic in the Scottish Cup final this weekend would also guarantee Hibs a place in the Europa Conference League group stage next season, which Mackay believes would further bolster their position.

"We would do both," he said.

"We've got our owners and our minority owners as one at the moment.

“Myself and Ian Gordon were down seeing Bill Foley last week and the Black Knights group and we had a terrific three or four hours with them. Just in terms of what happened during the season, where it all went, the good and the bad and the ugly. But also then what going forward was going to look like and they're very much aligned.

“We would love to try and get him back in one shape or another. As I said, we're going into a European campaign and we're already in the qualifiers, but if certain things happen at the weekend in terms of the cup final, there's a possibility that we then go into a group stage no matter what. I think that can change things up again as well.”

Sunderland’s likely stance on Nectar Triantis summer transfer explained

Triantis's future on Wearside may in part be guided by Sunderland's play-off final against Sheffield United on Saturday. If Sunderland remain in the Championship next season then departures could mean there are vacancies in their midfield group for next season, and the club would potentially then want to take a closer look at Triantis in the early weeks of pre-season.

There is believed to be other interest in Triantis, with Bundesliga club St Pauli one of those credited with an interest.

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