West Ham United boss Alan Curbishley is delighted with the arrival of new technical director Gianluca Nani.
The 45-year-old Italian boasts an extensive network of contacts in Europe, an area Curbishley believes has been West Ham's blind spot.
"I need to have my eyes opened," said Curbishley.
"I need more information. At the moment we are limited in our choices. Football is a global business now and at the moment I don't think we are in a position to compete.
"In Gianluca we have brought in a man who can help me enormously in what I want to do and help push the club forward.
"We need that knowledge and I haven't got that knowledge.
"Gianluca, with his success, with his network, with his contacts, is the person I need to help me in the recruitment area of the club, at senior level and venturing down into the academy level.
"That network and infrastructure is something we are lacking at the club and will be beefed up. It will give us as much a chance of securing home-grown talent, foreign talent, young players, experiences players, as the other clubs.
"If you look at the top of the Premier League, the clubs have people out there constantly trying to bring that talent to the club. That is what we feel we need."
Arsenal are a clear influence in West Ham's thinking, with Arsene Wenger one of the most successful managers in the game at spotting an unpolished gem and turning him into a superstar.
"I don't want to be in a position anymore where a player joins a club and we don't know anything about it," added Curbishley. "We are hoping to be on a level playing field now."
