Brendan Rodgers is convinced Luis Suárez will remain a Liverpool player next season after face-to-face talks with the Uruguay international's agent, Pere Guardiola. The Liverpool manager believes Suárez will stay even in the event of the club failing to qualify for Europe.

Suárez signed a new long-term contract with Liverpool in August but will be a target for several leading European clubs this summer after an outstanding campaign that has yielded 25 goals. The Manchester City manager, Roberto Mancini, confirmed his interest in the 26-year‑old to the Guardian last week while links with Bayern Munich were inevitable once Pep Guardiola, brother of Suárez's agent, was confirmed as the successor to Jupp Heynckes on 16 January.

Pere Guardiola, however, has been on Merseyside within the last few weeks to discuss Suárez's position with Rodgers and to hear the manager's plans for Liverpool. It was the first time the pair had spoken in person and the meeting strengthened Rodgers' conviction that a player central to his rebuilding plans will not seek a move this summer.

Suárez cut a distraught figure after Zenit St Petersburg ended Liverpool's last remaining hope of silverware in the Europa League and Rodgers' team are struggling to qualify for the competition next season. Asked if his leading striker would stay at Liverpool in the absence of European football, Rodgers replied: "At this stage I believe so, yes."

He elaborated: "There is no getting away from it, Luis has been brilliant this year but I haven't seen anything different that would make me feel he wouldn't be here. I had a great conversation with his agent a couple of weeks ago. He came in and rolled it out that Luis was so happy here and was keen over the next couple of years for the club to progress.

"I've made [Suárez] sort of my architect within the group. He and I communicate a lot so I get a feeling. It is not like I don't talk to him. Is he deserving of playing at that Champions League level? Of course he is but I would be confident enough that he will be here because he is enjoying his football. This is a club that he loves. He is enjoying working this way. If we can keep supporting him and getting the team moving forward then he seems happy and content. Hopefully we continue to keep a great player like that."

Rodgers says there was no ulterior motive behind Pere Guardiola's visit to Liverpool. "He is a good guy," he said. "I was talking about the future and development and he was reciprocal in the conversation that Luis is loving it here – the most productive season since he has been here. He is enjoying the style and the way of working. His desire is to see Liverpool progress and that is why he signed last summer. I don't feel or see anything different that would change my mind."

The Liverpool manager concedes he has made mistakes during his debut season with the club, who are eighth in the Premier League and 10 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea before Saturday's visit to Wigan Athletic. "If we are talking about trophies, it has not been the season that any of us would want, so I'm not going to stand here and bluff anyone," said Rodgers.

"But I'm looking at the season from a slightly different angle as well. I look at the League Cup and the team I had to put out at that time was never going to be strong enough to beat the Swansea side who then won it in the end. I had to do that. The FA Cup was down to me. I did not underestimate anyone but I felt we had a team strong enough to go and win the game. Maybe it proved not to be. In the Europa League we were the better team but we did not go through. Why we didn't go through was probably for the same reasons we have not kicked on in the league.

"It leaves us now with the league to concentrate on. I want to push into that top six if we possibly can. I think we can do that, reach fifth and go on a run which would be great. That is not thinking this club should not be higher, it is just a realistic aim for where we are at this season. A lot of things are coming together for us that should help us kick on next season."