Qualifying for the Champions League group stages will be "a big influence" for Liverpool in the transfer market according to Jürgen Klopp - particularly if they can achieve the feat consistently.

The Reds' thrilling second-leg with German outfit TSG 1899 Hoffenheim saw them claim a convincing 4-2 win, having been 3-0 up inside just 21 minutes at Anfield, to ensure a 6-3 aggregate victory.

That booked their return to the competition proper for the first time in three seasons and for just the third year inside the last nine, Liverpool's European pedigree having fallen by the wayside since the previous decade.

Since the years that Liverpool were not just consistent qualifiers, but also challengers, for the Champions League - their rivals' annual qualification has seen them make more forward steps in their progression, helping to lure high-profile players at the detriment of Liverpool themselves.

Klopp acknowledged the influence that dining at Europe's top table among the continent's elite teams can have in helping to persuade players to join - or stay at - the club and hopes all the hard work gone into booking their group stage berth can pay off.

"Lots of Liverpool transfer targets talk about the Champions League"

He explained to reporters in his post-match press conference: "It's a big influence on the transfer market, especially if we do it more often. I said I think before the game, if you talk to a player, they often [mention it]. Especially players we talk to because we don't have to talk to players who are not better than our players because they're difficult to find."

The German insisted that while "a few people think differently", Liverpool have done "a lot of work" and found that it is "not that easy to find 20 players in this position that are better" and "20 players in that position that are better."

"But if you talk to them, they say: 'If you would play in the Champions League it would be really interesting because the club is great, the manager is not too bad' and all that stuff," Klopp continued.

He also said: "Or even if you try to extend a contract with a player in the squad, [they say], 'Yeah, I want to play Champions League' and I always think 'WTF? It's your job to do it with us together, so don't ask that we do a job and you can play Champions League - do it with us together'."

Klopp praised that it is "what this team did" and insisted it is "why I am so happy about it", acknowledging that "14 months' hard work" went into reaching the group stages.

Klopp delighted by "excellent" Can display

Klopp's comments regarding contract renewals suggested that he was talking about midfielder Emre Can - who netted a brace to help achieve a comprehensive aggregate win over Hoffenheim.

On the German's performance, Klopp declared that Can - whose current Liverpool contract expires in 2018 - "is a great player" and hailed his display as "an excellent game."

"The first goal was great, it was a great assist from Sadio [Mané] and also maybe a deflection at the near post, I'm not sure," he continued, reiterating that Can "was great" and that "it was also useful" to keep "the penalty box full of players."

The manager noted that the 23-year-old had "been poorly for two days" and only "started a bit of training yesterday [on Tuesday]" before revealing: "He was in training this morning and I asked him if he was fit. He said, 'I can play, 100 per-cent', and he did. For 60 minutes he was excellent in this game and he really deserved today’s standing ovation."

Can's representatives are in ongoing negotiations with Liverpool officials as they look to agree upon a new deal for the talented midfielder, with it thought that the two parties are some way apart on the offered terms.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.