Middlesbrough have reportedly fended off competition from Championship rivals Birmingham City and Premier League newcomers Hull City as they negotiate a deal for USMNT international midfielder Rokas Pukstas.

That is according to a new update from Larry Henry Jr – via X – as Kim Hellberg’s side looks to add another statement move before next Tuesday’s 11PM deadline.

Middlesbrough are looking to end a 10-year absence from the Premier League at the end of the Championship season under the Swede’s guidance, having come close on two occasions just months after Hellberg replaced Rob Edwards.

Despite being in a strong position to realise their promotion objectives, the North East club fell short in the automatic promotion battle, losing to the Tigers at Wembley Stadium on May 23rd following a historic play-off campaign.

So far this summer, Steve Gibson has firmly pushed Hellberg to go one step further with a number of high-profile additions, but the first two Championship matches have yielded mixed results, with a 2-1 win and a defeat against Lincoln City and Blackburn Rovers.

Middlesbrough beat Birmingham City and Hull City to sign Rokas Pukstas.

Despite losing academy graduate and Championship Player of the Season Hayden Hackney to Everton, many would say that Middlesbrough has had a very successful transfer window.

They have already signed Radek Vitek, Ashley Phillips, Max Arfsten, Sebastian Berhalter, Kyle Joseph, and Will Lankshear, three of whom were part of packages worth £10 million or more.

Following a convincing EFL Cup victory against Doncaster Rovers, Mike McGrath stated that Borough are likely to sign Pukstas from Hadjuk Split for €5 million.

Rokas Pukstas Hajduk Split Hrvatska nogometna liga statistics 2025/26 (Source: FotMob)

Appearances

31

Goals

9

Shots: 73 Assists: 1 Touches in the opposing box

173

Duels won: 282

aerial duels won

108

Defensive contributions.

112

The 22-year-old has 26 goals and 10 assists in 141 appearances for the Croatian side, and it has now been revealed that the Teesside club has beaten both Birmingham and Hull to the transfer, with the USMNT youth international linked with a move to the MKM Stadium earlier in the window, with Jakirovic a previous Croatian top-flight winner with Dinamo Zagreb.

When is Rokas Pukstas likely to conclude Middlesbrough transfer revealed?

After rising through Hadjuk’s development system, Pukstas has gone on to play a significant role in European competition with his present club, which has competed in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League qualifying stages during that time.

Last season, the attacking midfielder scored 10 goals in 36 matches across all competitions as Hadjuk finished second to Dinamo by an 18-point margin, qualifying for the Europa League qualifiers, where they lost to Pafos FC in the second qualifying round, and is now hoping to advance to the Conference League league phase.

Pukstas played a deeper role in their play-off round first leg against Polish team Rakow, resulting in a 2-2 draw, leaving the tie in the balance.

However, it has been stated that following the match, the Oklahoma-born man will go to the north of England to finalise the deal before Tuesday’s deadline, with Middlesbrough meeting West Bromwich Albion at the Riverside on both dates.

Birmingham City have been defeated in another ‘number 10’ transfer competition.

While Middlesbrough will be hoping for another successful move into the American market following the previous form of Adilson Malanda and Aidan Morris, Birmingham, although no offer has been made, will have been defeated in another transfer race to solve Chris Davies’ problem position of attacking midfield.

Joe Gelhardt was on the verge of signing for Blues before Hull completed a transfer reunion with the 24-year-old, and while Football League World’s Birmingham City fan pundit has urged the club to sign Anis Mehmeti from Ipswich Town, it has now been revealed that, while the Midlands side has been linked with the Albanian, the Tractor Boys are demanding a £9 million fee.

As a result, Borough will be hoping that their divisional rivals, as well as Hull City in the top flight, will be left with transfer regret.