Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has insisted that his side can still attract the world's best talents without Champions League football.
The Red Devils currently sit ninth in the Premier League table, six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea before their trip to Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Manchester City's two-year ban from European competition for breaching Financial Fair Play rules has potentially opened the door for a route to the Champions League via fifth place, but the Norwegian doesn't believe that missing out on Europe's elite competition will be an issue for future transfer prospects.
"The Champions League gives the club more resources, more money, that's one thing," Solskjaer told reporters. "It's a prestigious tournament to be in, of course.
"But doing as well as we can, and if we play well the rest of the season, and players that we might want are impressed by that, it might be easier to convince them to come here.
"But I don't think one season - this season is the Europa League - if next season is with or without the Champions League, I wouldn't say that's the be-all and end-all for a player to sign for us."
A win for United against Frank Lampard's side would see them leapfrog Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers into seventh, two points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Ben Knapton
