Javier Subirats has given his advice to Manchester United over their protracted sporting director search.

Talk of United looking to hire a sporting director has been rife for years.

The club have looked to restructure their footballing department due to their struggles on the field since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure in 2013.

Hiring a sporting or technical director would allow executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward to focus on the commercial accounts at United, in which he has great success.

Woodward has weighed up several candidates over the years, including such high-profile names as Antero Henrique, Ralf Rangnick and Juventus director Fabio Paratici.

Former United stars Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and Darren Fletcherhave also been considered.

Subirats played 12 years at Valencia before stepping into the role of sporting director, helping Los Che claim two La Liga titles and the UEFA Cup in the early 2000s.

Widely regarded as the Spanish club's greatest sporting director, Subirats has given his advice to United as they continue to search for their own marvel.

He told Tribalfootball.com: "Regarding Manchester United, I would recommend that they seek somebody who logically is crystal clear about what the club wants. First of all, they have to find out what are the objectives of the club.

"With that as a base, they then have to have create guidelines to get the best players. Firstly, you have to get a manager that fits with what you want as a sporting director and the line of play that you want and the system of play too… not just for the first team but for the training school too.

"Also, it's important that the sporting director is independent and not aligned with one representative for players or one particular agency. This way, the sporting director is not tied down to any player and is free to choose the players that will best achieve the objectives that the club is seeking."