Nectarios Triantis breaks his silence on Sunderland move | OneFootball

Nectarios Triantis has spoken about his delight to join Sunderland from Australian A-League champions Central Coast Mariners after the two clubs came to an agreement this morning, with the transfer still subject to international clearance.

The 20-year-old, who has represented his country at youth level for the past year will link up with the squad on Wearside after his time with Australia's under-23 side at the Maurice Revello Tournament. His strong performances across the season also led to a nomination in the PFA A-League Team of the Season.

What has Nectarios Triantis said following his move to Sunderland?

Triantis described his move to the Stadium of Light as an 'honour', due to the well-documented size of the club, its fanbase and history.

"The opportunity to join such a prestigious Club is an honour, and I’m really looking forward to heading to England and meeting my new teammates later this month," he told the club's official media.

Having only played at the Central Coast Mariners for one season, the youngster was also quick to pay his respect to his head coach & former Sheffield United centre-back, Nick Montgomery.

He continued: "I’m ready for the challenge ahead and can’t wait to get started. I would like to thank Nick Montgomery and the Central Coast Mariners for giving me the platform that led to this exciting next chapter in my life."

What have the Central Coast Mariners said about Triantis?

Montgomery has also spoken in return about the opportunity given to Triantis, and that it was one he couldn't turn down in order to join a "fantastic club".

He told the Australian's official website: "Whilst we are obviously sad to be losing Nectar, we are so happy for him to be given this opportunity to join such a fantastic club like Sunderland. We would never hold him back from a move like this as he deserves it."

How does this move benefit both Triantis & Sunderland?

With Chronicle Live stating that The Black Cats have paid an undisclosed fee, the rough estimate is that this would be around an initial £300,000, with the length of the Australian's contract yet to be confirmed.

Despite his young age, Triantis will look to add his winning experience and mentality from the Mariners' A-League success into helping Sunderland navigate their way through the strong competition in the upcoming season.

Tony Mowbray has already spoken about how pivotal the club's recruitment would be in this summer window if they are to reach similar heights to last season's sixth place finish.

Bringing in a player like Triantis also continues the trend which has been set by Sunderland, who have been one of the main clubs this season for nurturing talent, with the youngest average age in any Championship club's starting XI of 23.6. This will give him the chance to flourish playing in a squad which have already proven its capabilities against all odds, and that many unknown players have come to the North East and established themselves as fan favourites.