TONY PULIS claims his off-field overhaul at Middlesbrough is already paying dividends, with improvements to the club’s academy system and medical set-up showing early signs of success.

While he was appointed with the aim of securing promotion to the Premier League, Pulis was also instructed to conduct a root-and-branch assessment of Boro’s off-field activities when he was installed as Garry Monk’s successor just over a year ago.

He has instigated a number of changes in the last 12 months, with Boro’s recruitment operation having undergone a major overhaul that will hopefully bear fruit in the remaining two-and-a-half weeks of the transfer window.

As well as looking at the way his club scouts and recruits players, Pulis has also tweaked the way the academy operates, putting a greater emphasis on loaning out players and selecting promising youngsters in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup.

Nathan Wood, Djed Spence, Bilal Brahimi and Stephen Walker have all made their senior debuts this season, with Marcus Tavernier and Lewis Wing becoming established members of the first-team squad.

Pulis has also introduced some medical changes, and while Aden Flint and Ryan Shotton are currently unavailable, Boro’s injury record in the first half of the season has been extremely impressive.

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Ultimately, Pulis accepts he will be judged on what happens on the pitch, but having developed a close relationship with Steve Gibson, the Boro boss is adamant he will continue to adopt a holistic approach to safeguarding the club’s development.

“I’ve never been anything but a person who’s wanted to go in and improve not just one area, but all the areas,” said Pulis. “If you look at the teams we’ve played, you’ll see how many academy players we’ve got involved and how many academy players we’ve given chances to.

“We’ve brought that much closer to us. The medical side is up and running too, and our injury record is very good. So it’s putting everything together, and then it’s also about then improving things.”

One way to improve things is signing new players, and having recruited Rajiv van La Parra from Huddersfield Town at the start of the month, Pulis remains determined to land two or three more additions before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.

Boro have had scouting teams scattered right across Europe in the first half of the season, but as a manager who revels in his ‘old-school’ reputation, Pulis freely admits he regards a player’s character as every bit as important as their technical talents.

“Life’s about people, and it’s about getting good players in, and players who want to be part of the football club and see the football club grow,” he said. “There’s an old saying from a very senior manager about putting foundations in place. His big thing was about characters, and having good people around in the dressing room, and then working around those good people.

“Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve always tried to maintain that philosophy in respect of bringing in solid people, and then building your backbone through them and building a football club that will last.”

Meanwhile, former Middlesbrough forward Cristhian Stuani is set for an unexpected January move – to become the main form of cover for Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at Barcelona.

Having allowed Munir El Haddadi to join Sevilla, Barcelona need to sign a forward capable of deputising for Messi or Suarez if either of the club’s superstar attackers suffers an injury.

Stuani has a €15m release clause in his contract at Girona, and Barcelona are set to trigger it in order to take him to the Nou Camp.