Nectar Triantis exit twist as Sunderland contract details emerge
Sunderland midfielder Nectarios Triantis’ future remains in doubt.
The Australian is back with the Sunderland squad after spending last season on loan with Hibernian, but it’s believed Regis Le Bris is willing to sell him if a reasonable bid arrives.
For a while, it looked as if Triantis would join Hibs permanently. He was a huge success in Scotland, and Hibs manager David Gray is desperate to get a deal done.
However, this transfer has stalled due to a clause in Triantis’ contract.
Hibs cannot afford to pay Triantis’ wages
Triantis had a clause in his Sunderland contract triggering a pay rise if the Mackems were promoted.
Although he wasn’t part of the squad that sealed promotion at the back end of last season, Triantis has still received that rise in wages.
And this has thrown a spanner in the works for Hibs.
As reported by the Daily Record (26 July), the Edinburgh side cannot afford to match Triantis’ wages. That means the midfielder would need to agree to a pay cut to sign at Easter Road, and there’s little sign of that happening.
It’s also suggested that Triantis wants to play at a higher level than the Scottish Premiership to boost his chances of being selected for Australia. He has supposedly had interest from the Championship and the MLS.
Triantis situation is a dilemma for Sunderland
Sunderland’s promotion to the Premier League was a momentous achievement, well earned. Everyone at the Stadium of Light will be delighted that it happened.
It will give the Black Cats a huge financial injection and allow supporters to watch the team take on England’s biggest clubs.
However, this situation with Triantis highlights one financial downside of being promoted to the Premier League.
In most scenarios, promoted teams need to invest in better players to give themselves a chance of staying up. This usually requires player sales to help balance the books, but that can be hard when players refuse to leave.
| Nectarios Triantis Sunderland statistics | |
| Signed | June 2023 |
| Appearances | 5 |
| Goals | 0 |
A lot of players prefer to stay at a club where they’re not required rather than accepting a pay cut to move somewhere else. These types of situations are more likely to occur when fringe players receive a promotion-based pay rise.
It’s even worse when a team gets relegated and can’t shift players, so Sunderland chiefs need to be very careful when issuing contracts to players. The future financial stability of the club could depend on it.
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