During the summer transfer window, Minnesota United’s front office leaders needed to convince Nectar Triantis that coming to MLS was the right move in his budding career.
Nectarios Triantis #25 of Minnesota United reacts after missing a goal against Novak Miovi #1 of Los Angeles Galaxy during the first half at Dignity Health Sports Park on Oct. 18, 2025 in Carson, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
The 22-year-old Australian midfielder was already playing in Europe — the favored continent in nearly every player’s eyes — albeit in a lower-level league.
And in a hopeful move, Triantis, who is of Greek descent, requested and received from FIFA a switch to represent Greece on the international stage — if he gets called up.
The sales pitch from Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad was successful. With a $722,665 salary that ranks eighth highest on the roster, Triantis came to Minnesota as an Under-22 Initiative signing on a 4 1/2-year contract.
And he’s off to a smashing start.
“He’s got that typical Aussie self-assurance, I would say, and it’s not misplaced in any way,” head coach Eric Ramsay said. “He’s obviously a very capable guy, very capable footballer. I think he’s really fixated on making sure that he hits the highest level possible.”
Soon after his arrival in August, Triantis became a regular in Ramsay’s defensive midfield. His first start came in a huge match, the U.S. Open Cup semifinal loss to Austin, then was in the starting XI for the final four MLS regular-season games and in Game 1 of the MLS Cup Playoffs last Monday.
Minnesota won Game 1 and the best-of-three series shifts to Seattle for Game 2 at 9:45 p.m. CST Monday at Lumen Field.
For Triantis, that a string of games that should put him on the radar for the Greece senior national team, while it underscores a self-belief in how high his career can reach.
“He’s got a real point to prove,” Ramsay said. “He’s not come here to stand still in any way. He really wants to progress. And he’s obviously got characteristics that really help us.”
Ramsay called the 6-foot-3 Triantus “a bit of a destroyer in the middle,” but also someone who is composed on the ball with an ability to dribble around opponents and provide line-breaking passes.
Against Seattle in Game 1, the Loons spent long periods defending in a low block and when they get the ball back, they need players who are strong enough to handle the ball in big moments.
“You can just see his personality and desire to want to help the team win,” midfield mate Wil Trapp said. “I think it’s been really impressive from the beginning. You always want guys to come in that do it in a way that feels like they have confidence, that they can affect the game. I think he has done that in spades from the beginning. It’s been really fun.”
Triantis played the previous two seasons for Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership while on loan from Sunderland, which was promoted to the English Premier League this season. The Loons paid a $2.5 million transfer fee to Southhampton to bring in Triantis.
That is looking like a bargain.
In addition to his primary roles of defending and connecting, Triantis has also shown a goal-scoring ability. He scored from the halfway line in his Loons debut against San Diego in September and had another long-range goal at Colorado two weeks later.
In Game 1 versus Seattle, Triantis had some dangerous shots during the match and stepped up to the penalty-kick spot and tucked a PK inside the left post in the Loons’ 3-2 shootout.
Loons assistant coach Cam Knowles, who organizes the PK lineup, showed confidence in Triantis, putting him second behind top taker Kelvin Yeboah.
Was Triantis nervous? “Not really,” he said.
It showed.
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