Nuri Sahin wants to help Liverpool return to the Champions League after an absence of three years and does not rule out his season-long loan move from Real Madrid. becoming permanent in the summer.

The Turkey midfielder, speaking after his move to Anfield was sealed on Saturday, was at the ground again the following day to watch Brendan Rodgers' side come close to defeating the champions, Manchester City. After a second-half goal from Luis Suárez put Liverpool 2-1 ahead, Martin Skertel's mistake played in Carlos Tevez who scored an 80th-minute equaliser that allowed Roberto Mancini's side to escape with a 2-2 draw.

But Sahin was impressed with the display as Liverpool's recovered from losing 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion on the opening day in their first outing under Rodgers.

Under the Northern Irishman's predecessor, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool could only finish eighth in the previous campaign, 17 points behind Tottenham Hotspur who filled the fourth Champions League berth. Yet Sahin said: "If you watch the game against Manchester City, you see that the style the team is playing is very good and, of course, Liverpool has to play in the Champions League. A big club like Liverpool has to play every year in the Champions League and we will do everything to get in the top four.

"Also there is the FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League, and with the potential we have here, we can do some good things I think at the end of the season."

Sahin, who began his career at Borussia Dortmund where he won the Bundesliga in the 2010-11 season and was voted the player of the year before moving to Madrid, joined Liverpool despite interest from Arsenal, who believed they had secured his services for the campaign.

The 23-year-old stated that Rodgers's preferred passing style of play was the reason that he decided against moving to north London. He said: "The project with Liverpool and Brendan Rodgers is the best for my situation I think – that is why I am here. I think the style I play is the same as how the manager wants the team to play.

"I have settled in very well and I hope it will be the same on the pitch and that we will have a great season. Everything people told me about Liverpool is there, what I see now."

Xabi Alonso, Sahin's club colleague at Real Madrid, was an influence in him moving to Anfield. The Spaniard was at Liverpool for five years, winning the 2005 Champions League and the FA Cup a year later before moving to the Bernabéu in 2009, and Sahin said that the midfielder is still "in love with Liverpool Football Club – he told me only good things about Liverpool".

Sahin also pointed to the heritage of a club which has won the top division 18 times and claimed five European Cups. "It is a very big club with a huge history and I think I have made the right choice," he said.

After helping win the Bundesliga in 2011, Sahin signed for José Mourinho's Madrid on a six-year deal. He collected a La Liga winner's medal last season though he made only four appearances due to a serious knee problem. Now recovered, Sahin is determined to make a successful comeback to playing this season. "This is very important for me after the long injury I got last year," he said. "We became champions with Real Madrid, but I didn't play so many games, so for me it was important to come to a club where I had the chance to play at the highest level. I think in this case Liverpool is the best club for me right now."

Asked if he may move permanently to Merseyside, Sahin said: "In football you never know. I am here first for the next season and then you never know what will be happening in a few months. I am looking forward to playing this year here and after, we will see. I trained three days with the team and everything is going well, I had a pre-season with Real Madrid and of course I need some games to get involved in the team."

Sahin is unsure that if he were to prove himself at Liverpool by becoming an integral member of Rodgers's team whether this would force him back into Mourinho's first-team plans. "[As] I said before, I don't know what will be happening in one week so I can't speak about next season," he said.