Nectar Triantis remains Hibs top transfer target but David Gray warns he's not their only option as wait window closes
David Gray has reiterated that Nectar Triantis remains Hibs ' top target - but he is not their only option to fill that midfield berth.
The Australian had a successful loan spell at Easter Road last season and was shortlisted for the PFA Scotland young player of the year award.
Triantis has since gone back to Sunderland, who have just been promoted to the English Premier League, as he weighs up his next move.
Hibs boss Gray acknowledged: 'You don't want to just be waiting around. We've got a clear plan of what we need to do.
'We're not just going to sit here and pin our hopes on a player deciding what he wants to do. We've made our interests very clear.
'Everybody's aware of that, but we're also working extremely hard to make sure we bring in quality in that position and the right type of people.
'We talk about that all the time. That work's never stopped.
'Nectar was clearly a loan player last season as well. We were always going to be at this point, depending on if it went well or not.
'I think Nectar was fantastic last season. Loads of improvement.
'It's always going to be something that's never going to happen overnight just purely because of how well he's done. He's going to attract a lot of interest.
'His parent club have just been promoted to the Premier League so they're going through a bit of a transition as to what their plan is going to be moving forward.'
Hibs have targeted other midfield targets south of the border but Triantis still remains the main man.
Gray added: 'For us, he's a big part of what we've done last season.
'When fit, he played nearly every minute of every game. He was a huge player for us last season.
'That's part of being a young player at such a big club.
'That's why nothing will happen really quickly at that stage because their priority will be dealing with the Premier League and what that looks like, how they jump from the Championship to the Premier League and the importance of trying to stay in that league and what that looks like.
'For a young player who's been on loan last season and who's done really, really well, they'll still have to go back and see exactly what it looks like. I'm sure there'll be conversations being had about what's best for Nectar.
'You just touched on the other levels and the money that can get spent at that sort of level. That's why nothing will happen directly overnight.
'There is always a process that everybody will have to go through and try to find out what's best out for everyone.'
Gray has been delighted that Rocky Bushiri and Junior Hoilett have both committed.
He added: 'I think I spoke so many times now about how good the group was last season - and they were two big parts of that,' said Gray. 'I think not just in their performance levels, but how they are every day around the building. Both leaders in different ways.'
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