Portsmouth and Mousinho ‘get their Triantis answer’ after Sunderland developments
Portsmouth have been exploring the possibility of signing another Australian player in Sunderland midfielder Nectarios Triantis.
The Aussie midfielder has failed to break into the Sunderland team and might find it even harder to do so after their promotion to the Premier League.
However, John Mousinho’s decision to pursue him is likely to be affected by this new update.
Triantis keen to fight for his place at Sunderland
Triantis has made only three appearances for Sunderland since being drafted in from Australian A-League side Central Coast Mariners.
However, he remains keen to make it work in the North East.
The 22-year-old has said he wants to impress Sunderland boss Regis Le Bris during pre-season before deciding on his long-term future.
This means Portsmouth would have to wait until the end of the transfer window to bring Triantis to Fratton Park. That’s if he decides to leave Sunderland at all.
Triantis is also being pursued by Hibernian, where he spent last season on loan.
He won the club’s Young Player of the Year award, as well as being nominated for Scottish Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year.
According to Hibs Observer editor Patrick McPartlin, Triantis will join Sunderland for pre-season with a view to learning where he stands.
Triantis is said to be keen to show Regis Le Bris what he can do, and a decision over his future will not be made anytime soon.
Portsmouth would be foolish to wait around for Triantis
Triantis is regarded as Hibs’ main transfer target for the summer, but their manager David Gray has said that he won’t wait around all summer for the Aussie to make a decision.
That’s a smart attitude, and Mousinho would be well advised to consider other midfield targets now.
Triantis is highly recommended by those within the Australian game, but Portsmouth shouldn’t wait all summer to try and land him.
| Appearances | Minutes Played | Goals | Assists |
| 37 | 3079 | 3 | 6 |
If he does choose to leave Sunderland, Hibs would likely be his preferred destination, considering how well he did at Easter Road.
That’s not a huge problem for Portsmouth. They have other targets in midfield like £2.5million-rated Pelle Mattsson. A return for Isaac Hayden could now also be possible after the Jamaican international was transfer-listed by Newcastle.
Pompey don’t have a huge transfer budget, so they’ll be looking to get the most bang for their buck. They’ll also want to get their business done early to avoid starting the new season short of midfielders.
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