MARTIN BRAITHWAITE has criticised Tony Pulis’ “kick and rush” tactics, and insisted there is no chance of him returning to Middlesbrough when his current loan at Spanish side Leganes ends in the summer.

Braithwaite joined Leganes in January after an initial attempt to engineer a move to La Liga proved unsuccessful in August.

Last summer, Pulis insisted Braithwaite remained on Teesside, but while the Danish forward started the current campaign impressively, scoring three goals in the opening four league games, his form quickly tailed off and he found himself struggling to even make the substitutes’ bench.

He attributes his struggles to Pulis’ tactical approach, and while there are question marks over the Middlesbrough manager’s own future beyond the end of the season, is adamant he does not want to return to Teesside to see out the final two years of his deal.

“I’m not coming back to Middlesbrough, I can’t imagine that,” said Braithwaite, who was speaking while on international duty with Denmark. “The project I was presented with at Middlesbrough changed completely when Pulis arrived.

“He has a strange way to play football. The team plays defensively with long balls. It’s really kick and rush – it doesn’t look so good to me.

“It’s the reason I didn’t play much at Middlesbrough, but I never complained. I worked hard and tried to maintain the good mood every day in the workout (training).

“No matter how negative things look, it’s about working hard and being positive, because suddenly you get a second chance, an option where things can change quickly.

“That chance I got with Leganes, where I’ve thrived, but I also know that something new is probably waiting in the summer.”

Braithwaite has scored four La Liga goals with Leganes this season, two of which came against Real Madrid and Barcelona, and his current employers have indicated a desire to sign him permanently.

They have one of the lowest budgets in the Spanish top-flight though, and will almost certainly struggle to meet Middlesbrough’s asking price for a player that cost around £9m when he moved to the Riverside from Toulouse in July 2017.

Boro will want to recoup their vast majority of their outlay, and while Leganes could struggle to raise the necessary finance, a number of their rivals in the Spanish top-flight are understood to be considering a move of their own.

“Leganes have no purchase option on me,” said Braithwaite. “I’m very happy to be at the club, but I don’t think it’s a place I’m going to continue because they probably can’t pay the transfer fee for me.

“I want a little more stability with regards to my football future. (I want to) find a club where I can play for a long time, not least for my family’s sake.”