Liverpool Transfer News: Neymar Should Have Replaced Suarez, Says Jimmy Bullard

Former Premier League midfielder Jimmy Bullard has criticised Liverpool for not being ambitious enough in the transfer market, insisting the club should have been targeting a player like Neymar to have replaced Luis Suarez when the Uruguayan was sold to Barcelona in the summer of 2014.

Speaking to Charles Perrin of the Daily Express, Bullard insisted Liverpool should be going after world-class talents when they do let quality players leave:

"

They haven't bought enough. They bought ok, but Roberto Firmino has not produced. They got rid of top quality and they haven't got that back. With the likes of Suarez going and not getting world quality, for me as a fan I want to see a world-class striker join.

I wanted to see a Neymar or someone to replace Suarez. They took a risk with signing Danny Ings from Burnley.

"

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It would have been some coup for the Reds to have gotten Neymar in. While the Brazilian was still viewed as a little raw when Suarez joined Barcelona, his potential has always been obvious and alongside the ex-Liverpool striker and Lionel Messi, the young winger developed into a threatening outlet on the left-hand side.

As such, for a club like Liverpool, it’s the kind of deal that always would have been hugely unlikely. Not only do the Reds not boast the financial clout to lure a player such as Neymar away from Barcelona, but they’re not currently among the elite sides in the Premier League, or indeed in Europe.

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Neymar definitely has a vital role to play at Barcelona too, especially now with Messi injured. As we can see here courtesy of OptaJose, he’s a winger that looks to have taken on a lot of responsibility without the talisman:

But Bullard’s point about Liverpool not going after world-class players is a valid one. The past two summers the Reds have lost key players in Raheem Sterling and Suarez for big money, but in the main they’ve replaced them with signings who have potential or players who are a notch below that very top bracket.

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Still, Bullard admitted he does have some sympathy for under pressure manager Rodgers. “On the other scale, that's why I back Rodgers,” Bullard said. “He goes off what he sees and doesn't just go off names. He can do a job and that's why I like him and back him for that.”

Lee Clayton of the Daily Mail feels as though the signings made by Rodgers are ultimately what’s let him down during his time as Liverpool manager:

Granted, new players do need time to settle into a new league, team and culture. But after being handed plenty of backing from the club’s owners, they're luxuries Rodgers may not have going forward. In his fourth season in charge, this is very much his own side and apart from the 2013-14 term, there’s been no sign of Liverpool really moving forward under his watch.

Going after players in the bracket of Neymar would have been plain fanciful, but Liverpool’s inability to attract big names will be a concern to plenty associated with the club. The onus is on Rodgers and his players to push the Reds back up to the upper echelons of English football.