Christian Pulisic should take a PAYCUT and leave Chelsea, claims former US goalkeeper

Christian Pulisic has been encouraged to sacrifice money for playing time by former United States international Kasey Keller.

The USMNT captain has majorly struggled for minutes at Chelsea this season, limiting his preparation for the World Cup later this month.

Pulisic, whose career has been hampered by injuries, fell out of favor under sacked Blues boss Thomas Tuchel and there’s been little change in the circumstances under new manager Graham Potter.

Christian Pulisic should take a paycut and leave Chelsea, claims ex-US goalkeeper Kasey Keller

Keller, who won 102 caps for the USA between 1990 and 2007, believes Pulisic shouldn’t waste his time sitting on the bench at Stamford Bridge.

‘I think part of the issue for Christian Pulisic initially was injuries. It’s been two steps forward, two back,’ Keller told Betway.

‘He’d really establish himself, and then he’d get injured. I never have a problem with a player looking for more playing time. 

‘I understand there is potentially less salary out there than Chelsea, but there’s also a part of you that says you have a finite amount of time. 

Pulisic has majorly struggled for game time at London-based Premier League team this season

‘I was lucky, I had a 20-year career, if you’re an outfield player and you’ve had 14 years you’ve had a brilliant career.

‘But do you want to look back on it and say I had 200 starts, on and off the bench, or I had 500 starts and 300 off the bench? OK maybe I left money on the table, but only the individual can answer that. 

‘What I’d love to see Pulisic do is win a starting spot at Chelsea, honestly that’s what I’d love more than anything but there is a point where he needs to decide what’s more important.’

Pulisic is the USA’s talisman but his preparation for the Qatar World Cup hasn’t been ideal 

The 24-year-old winger featured for just 12 minutes in Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal Sunday.

It is not the ideal situation for USA’s talisman for the Qatar showpiece, which starts on November 20. 

There’s no doubt over Pulisic’s spot in Gregg Berhalter’s roster for the World Cup, which will be announced on Wednesday, but there are likely to be concerns over his fitness and form.

USMNT begins its campaign against Wales on November 21 before facing England four days later. Its final group game is against Iran on November 29.