Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is the type of manager that top players will want to play for, says club icon Steven Gerrard.

Klopp secured a return to the Champions League in his first full season at the helm at Anfield and is keen to bolster his squad for their additional duties.

While the chance to compete at European football’s top table will help attract new players, Gerrard believes their German manager will be just as influential to bring in big names.

‘If I’m a top player around Europe and Jurgen picks the phone up and I get offered the chance to play for this club, which is moving forward in every single department and has a world class manager leading it, I’d be jumping at that opportunity,’ Gerrard told the Liverpool Echo.

Gerrard will take charge of Liverpool’s Under-18s next season, but was back on the pitch for the Reds in a friendly against Sydney FC on Wednesday.

Gaining the experience of playing under Klopp made him wonder if he could have achieved greater success at Liverpool with the German at the helm.

‘I was looking around and it was a strange feeling out there,’ he said. ‘I was thinking if Jurgen Klopp had been at the club a bit earlier what might have been.

‘There’s no doubt about it, if he had been here three or four years [ago] I believe I would have been part of him delivering big trophies for this club.

‘It’s his aura and the way he is with you – how he makes you feel.

‘I went out there to play in a friendly and I felt like it was the World Cup final. That’s what he gives players.

‘We’re blessed to have him and hopefully we can go from strength to strength over the summer. Everyone is excited,’ he said.

Photo: EPA/Will Olivier

– This story originally appeared on FourFourTwo.co.za