On Monday, West Ham officially confirmed that the Italian will take up the newly created role full-time in June, while revealing his duties at the club.

He has already begun working with manager Alan Curbishley with regards to potential transfer targets for the summer.

And Nani believes the club's potential is down to their fanbase and reputation for developing young talent.

"I have to help the club to build a system, to discover in advance the best young players," he said on Sky Sports News. "To discover the player the manager needs.

"We have to build the system and staff to work in that way. Looking forward in a global market.

"I work with the board, with [chief executive officer] Scott (Duxbury) and with Alan. This is the area - technical recruitment and discovering players.

"I know that West Ham's academy is the best in England, maybe one of the best in the world.

"But I think that we are in a global market, and if we try to find some players from abroad it doesn't mean we have to break the best academy in England.

"We have to improve the English players too because the fans like to recognise this type of player.

"We have this power and capacity here at West Ham. We have to push all the time to find English players but we have to bring in the best foreign players too.

"We have to keep the traditional English players. We have to be proud of the work West Ham has done in the past - for example with Frank Lampard senior and junior and Joe Cole.

"We have to follow this tradition. But this does not mean that we should miss out on the chance to get players like Kaka or Adriano. Why not?

"It will benefit the club. Bringing players from abroad does not stop the English players. We have to push for the English players.

"I think the club has a big potential because when I think of West Ham, I think of the fans. This club has really incredible potential."