Middlesbrough to sign another American after USMNT stars Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten

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Tom Weber | Writer

Hajduk Split midfielder Rokas Pukstas is expected to become the fourth American at Championship side Middlesbrough.

The United States men's national team hopeful, who is believed to have a strong chance of making his senior debut before the end of the year, is set to leave Hajduk after six years at the club.

Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Pukstas initially played in the youth setup of now-defunct USL club OKC Energy before spending time with Sporting Kansas City and the Barcelona academy in Casa Grande, Arizona.

Due to his Lithuanian heritage, he was able to move to Europe at age 16. He had a trial at Man Utd in 2019 but ultimately ended up joining Croatian side Hajduk the following year.

Now aged 22, Pukstas has been a key player for the Split outfit for several years. The attacking midfielder has racked up 141 senior appearances for the club since 2022, but Thursday's Conference League playoff clash with Polish club Rakow Czestochowa is set to be his final game.

Pukstas to join Boro

First reported by Index and confirmed by The Athletic, Hajduk have accepted a €5 million offer from English second-tier club Middlesbrough. The deal has yet to be finalized, but barring any unforeseen twists, Pukstas will be on his way to Teesside later this week.

In doing so, the 22-year-old will become the fourth American at Boro, joining fellow new recruits Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten as well as Aidan Morris, who has been with the club since 2024.

Berhalter and Arfsten arrived this summer from the Vancouver Whitecaps and Columbus Crew, respectively, after featuring for the USMNT at the World Cup. Morris was a notable omission from Mauricio Pochettino's squad.

After losing last season's playoff final to Hull City and thus missing out on promotion to the Premier League, Boro have invested heavily in their squad this summer. Pukstas' signing will take their spending to around €50m.

Besides beefing up their American contingent, Boro have spent big on Will Lankshear, who is already being billed as the next Harry Kane, and talented defender Ashley Phillips, with both arriving from Tottenham.

Man Utd goalkeeper Radek Vitek, Hull striker Kyle Joseph and Brighton winger Jeremy Sarmiento have also been signed for fees, while Myles Peart-Harris and Sam Byram have joined on free transfers from Oxford and Leeds, respectively.

Boro have prevailed over Wrexham and Doncaster in the Carabao Cup, but their start to the Championship season has been mixed. They beat promoted Lincoln on opening day before suffering a surprise 2-1 loss to Blackburn at the weekend.

Pukstas may not be ready to feature against West Brom on Saturday, but he could make his debut against relegated Burnley on Wednesday.