Brendan Rodgers believes the attractive style of football that was fostered and fine-tuned at Anfield last season has been beneficial in luring a high standard of new talent to Liverpool this summer.

The Reds produced arguably the most entertaining and thrilling football of the Barclays Premier League in 2013-14, ultimately scoring no fewer than 101 goals en route to a second-place finish.

With that achievement came Champions League qualification - thereby ending the club's five-year absence from the competition - and a natural requirement for the squad to be bolstered.

Rickie Lambert was the first fresh recruit through the door at the beginning of June, to be followed by a pair of former Southampton teammates, playmaker Adam Lallana and defender Dejan Lovren.

In between times, German midfielder Emre Can and Serbian attacker Lazar Markovic have signed up for Rodgers' project, while Divock Origi will fully arrive next year after returning to Lille on loan.

Full-back Javier Manquillo was captured on loan from reigning Spanish champions Atletico Madrid last week, and on Tuesday it was confirmed that an agreement is in place for compatriot Alberto Moreno.

For the manager, who leads his team into their first league game of the campaign this Sunday against Southampton, it is no surprise that Liverpool are considered a promising destination for the continent's cream.

"If you're a football player in Europe watching how we played last season and saw our supporters, your reaction would be that you'd want to play in that environment," said Rodgers.

"That ability to attract top players is great. It's a huge indication of the progress of the club - a really good symbol of where the club is at. We have made huge strides in the last couple of years.

"It's the most competitive league in the world and this is one of the biggest clubs in the world. It's a team that plays exciting football. I'm happy with the players we have got in, and we'll be set up for an exciting season."

On Lovren and Markovic in particular, he continued: "Lovren was a guy sought after by a number of clubs, but for him to say he only wanted to come to Liverpool was great.

"Young Markovic had two or three other clubs there waiting to take him, clubs where he had mates from his international team, but he wanted to come to Liverpool.

"These guys watch football throughout Europe. They watch us and want to be part of what we're doing. It's the growth. It hasn't just happened by accident.

"A lot of work and time has gone in both on and off the field. The most important thing is to have an identity. There is real excitement around the club."