It is looking increasingly unlikely that Nectarios Triantis will be returning to Hibs . The Easter Road side has held talks with Sunderland over a permanent club record deal. The midfielder was a standout on loan at Easter Road last season. David Gray and his board have pushed the boat out to try and land the 22-year-old on a permanent basis. They have been forced to wait as Triantis has gone back into the Sunderland fold for their pre-season trip. The Australian has also triggered a significant wage increase as a result of the Black Cats promotion back to the Premiership. Hibs would struggle to get near those wages. Triantis also has a number of big options in the English Championship and in Major League Soccer that Hibs wouldn’t be able to compete with financially. The player also has to make a decision over his international future with Australia and Greece both options. That will be a big factor in his decision as he will want to go and play at the highest club level to enhance his international ambitions. Hibs best chance would be to get Triantis back on loan, but that would only potentially happen at the end of the window and would be a long shot if his other options weren’t to materialise. Gray said before their draw in Midtjylland that he hadn’t given up on getting Triantis back. The Hibs head coach, speaking to the BBC, said: "He was brilliant to work with. “He's earned the right to go back to his parent club for pre-season there. They're on a different schedule from us, as they started later, so there's always going to be time within these situations to see exactly what the lie of the land is." Follow Record Sport on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond. You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to your phone. Join our Celtic community here . Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football