The young American is making waves overseas, drawing interest from megaclubs despite his unusual path
In some ways, Rokas Pukstas' path feels like the soccer version of a Mad Lib. Insert a name here, a comparison there, a country here, jumble it all together and what do you get? Well, in this case, maybe just something special.
What happens when you combine a Lithuanian Olympian, an American upbringing, a Croatian education, a German inspiration and English suitors? Well, you get Pukstas, the U.S. men's national team midfield starlet who looks bound for big things very soon. The 19-year-old dynamic midfielder continues to impress in Croatia, and it seems like a matter of time before he becomes that league's next big midfield export.
It's a league that has produced Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, the spine of a Croatia team that has punched above its weight class for years. And, from what we've seen, Pukstas looks bound to reach a top league like those three did, either as a No.8 or a No.10.
Pukstas' story may seem wild now, given all of the stops that have brought him here, but it seems like that story is only just beginning.
Where it all began
There haven't been many superstar soccer players from the state of Oklahoma, but there also haven't been many soccer superstars that had Pukstas' upbringing. The son of Lithuanian Olympian marathon runner, Mindaugus Pukstas, the young midfielder was seemingly born to be an athlete.
While his father thrived as a runner, though, Pukstas' talents were directed toward soccer and, from an early age, he made waves across the American game. After spending time with Sporting KC's academy, Pukstas joined the Barcelona resident Academy in 2020, playing alongside fellow American starlets Diego Luna and Caden Clark. He didn't last long there, though, as the Coronavirus pandemic hastened an exit that, given his skillset, was always inevitable.
By November of 2020, Pukstas made the leap to Europe, heading to Croatia to join Hajduk Split.
AdvertisementGettyThe big break
It took some time for Pukstas to break through with Hajduk Split but, once it did happen, it felt like there was no going back. After a year-and-a-half in the youth system, Pukstas made his debut on April 22, 2022, featuring in a 2-1 win over Hrvatski Dragovaljac.
As the 2022-23 season began, Pukstas very quickly became a regular in the first-team squad while also helping the club's U-19s make a run to the final of the UEFA Youth League. In total, he featured in 27 senior matches for the club during that 2022-23 season, scoring four goals in league play.
The biggest moments, though, came in the Croatian Cup, with Pukstas starting all five matches as Split won the trophy with a 2-0 win over HNK Sibenik in the final.
Already in the USYNT pipeline, Pukstas was then called up to the U-20 World Cup, despite Split keeping hold of him during the group stage due to that Croatian Cup run. Still, even with his delayed start, he was deemed too important to leave out, with Pukstas then joining up for the knockout round.
Unfortunately, it lasted just two appearances before the U.S. was knocked out against Uruguay, but he did score a goal in the Round of 16 win against New Zealand to make his mark during what ultimately turned out to be a World Cup cameo.
Still, the message was loud and clear: U.S. Soccer is very high on Pukstas, and that brief U-20 World Cup run will, hopefully, be just one of several international tournaments for the midfielder before long.
GettyHow it's going
After his big breakthrough last season, Pukstas hasn't slowed down during the current campaign despite a knee injury that kept him out for the start of the season. Through just nine games since that injury, he already has three goals from the midfield and he's helped his side to the top of the league.
His rise has caught the eyes of some European giants, with Arsenal among the clubs linked. Fabrizio Romano reported, though, that clubs in Germany were pushing heavily for Pukstas' signature with the Bundesliga looking like his most likely next destination.
Pukstas temporarily put the transfer rumors to bed by signing a new contract recently that will keep him with the club through 2027. The most likely scenario, though, is that he never sees the end of that contract as his new deal will do little to deter interest from some major suitors going forward.
Biggest strengths
A player who can play as a No.8 or as more of an attacking midfielder, Pukstas has shown he has goals in his game no matter how high up the field he's played.
With seven goals to his name in just 31 league matches for Split, Pukstas has had no problem getting forward and contributing. It is the Croatian League, sure, which isn't one recognized among the elite in Europe, but it's still a league that produced much of the top talent that has kept the country's national team right up there with the very best through the last two World Cups.
It's not just the goals, though, as Pukstas has also provided plenty of assists, too. His workrate is also instantly noticeable, with his father's marathon background perhaps offering a better understanding of the type of engine the young midfielder could have.
In terms of goalscoring, Pukstas is right near the top in every metric, despite playing in a midfield position, while his shooting accuracy is also right near the top of the Croatian league. Defensively, too, he's done surpisingly well for a player that is still very much developing on that side of the ball.
