Premier League appeal understandable, admits Easter Road boss
Hibs boss David Gray has warned top transfer Nectar Triantis that the Easter Road club have multiple targets for the key role in central midfield. But the Hibees gaffer admits he understands why Triantis might fancy trying to force his way into a Sunderland squad about to return to the Premier League.
Triantis was a stand-out as defensive midfielder during his second loan stint with Hibs, as Gray’s men climbed from the foot of the table to finish third in the Scottish Premiership. The young Aussie, converted from a centre-half under Gray, remains the top priority for the Edinburgh club in this transfer window.
But asked about reports that Triantis was hoping to persuade Black Cats boss Regis le Bris to take a punt on him, despite Sunderland having just spent £50 million-plus on TWO central midfielders, Gray said: “His parent club have been promoted. He’ll be looking at options and what’s there and trying to impress there. Why would you not want to do that after doing so well out on loan?
“But we’re making sure we’re not singling one player for one position - and we have got our targets. Things can change and that’s the difficult job of the recruitment department.
“No immediate update. We made it clear how well he did here that we’d be interested.”
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The search for a striker is also a pressing matter for Hibs, who started with Scotland forward Kieron Bowie wearing the No. 9 jersey in tonight’s 3-2 friendly win over Rot-Weiss Essen, before replacing the former Fulham prospect with Martin Boyle in the second half. Junior Hoilett started up front alongside Bowie, the veteran Canadian scoring a sweet goal, and Elie Youan was forced off soon after coming on at half-time with a back injury.
Hibs in five-goal Euro throwback thriller
Gray, impressed to see Jamie McGrath get on the scoresheet just seconds into his first home appearance, said: “We’re always looking. We know the areas we still need to look at and we’re trying to improve so when the window closes, we’re in a stronger position.
“We want to make sure we bring the right type; it’s not a case of just bringing in numbers. Players coming in have settled really well and it’s good to get them used to playing at Easter Road.
“Josh Mullen and Jamie did really well. We have a good core who embrace players coming. It’s a good recipe to have.”
Reflecting on a madcap five-goal thriller enlivened by the presence of 2000-plus noisy German ultras, Gray said: “It’s always nice to win games, especially at home. It was a good exercise for both teams.
“The fans added to the occasion, it didn’t feel like a friendly which was good. It’s about minutes in the legs at this stage and we started with good intent.
“We started the second half very slow, but we made changes and reacted and credit to the players. I know it’s only pre-season but it’s a good habit. There’s loads of improvement, the goals we lost, and we need to make sure we’re improving all the time.”
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