Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is confident they can compete with any club in Europe in the transfer market.
But Klopp says even the prospect of European football should not play a decisive part in whether their summer targets end up at the club — describing it as “the icing on the cake".
The German explained: “If you look back over the last ten years, even from the outside, Liverpool always looked like a massive club.
“I can only speak from a German point of view of other clubs. Chelsea has the money, Man City is coming up — some wonderful players, big signings — Manchester United is Manchester United.
“But we are a really interesting project. There is still the power and size of this club — but the perspective has changed. Everyone can see that from the outside.
“The mood is different, a few people are different, but the base is there.
“We feel it in the talks with the players we want — they have to see it, they have to feel it and they have to make a decision.
“It should not sound negative but if the Champions League is the only reason why a player is coming, then it makes no sense for him or for us.
“If you have one year of not qualifying, then the player decides he wants another Champions League club?
“But the players are really positive this year in comparison to last year.
“They saw our way and saw the football. The Champions League would be the icing on the cake.
“We are powerful in a lot of parts of the game and we will be successful in the future but for this we need the players, of course. We have very good players — and we need a few more."