Sevilla chief Monchi says he is baffled as to why Manchester United do not have a director of football.
The Spaniard is something of an expert in the role and has helped the club discover the likes of Jesus Navas, the late Jose Antonio Reyes and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.
United flirted with the idea of hiring someone as a 'technical director' last year and even held informal talks with the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Red Bull's Ralf Rangnick and club legend Rio Ferdinand.
But all talk towards the end of last year cooled and in May it was reported that United had completely turned off from the idea.
Woodward was happy enough with his own set up - Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the scouting department now have the final say on player recruitment.
But Monchi is perplexed by this, believing all top flight clubs should have a sporting director.
"This is my opinion - all clubs should have this position," he told The Telegraph.
"What is the main function? To dedicate the time to everything that relates on a sports level. Where 60-70 per cent of the budget is allocated to the first team, if you don’t have a specialist who deals with that, it is very difficult to understand.
"I do understand there are very successful clubs – Manchester United are probably one of the top five in the world, but they do not have that specific position – but I think that clubs more and more are aware that they really need this position and also we are the connection between the technical staff, the squad, the board, we know the market, we get lots of information through the different scouts.
"So, for me, I can’t believe a club does not have this particular position. Logically, I have to believe in it because that’s what I do. But I do think it’s essential."
