Manchester United hiring Omar Berrada from Manchester City as their new chief executive looks like a masterstroke.

Omar is a very impressive guy. He's a great person to work with and someone I've shared a lot of insightful conversations with during his time at the Etihad. 

His background is more business-based and focused around the structure of a club, so he will provide stability in that sense where it is needed.

He's been a big part of the progression and growth of City Football Group, so this is a top acquisition for United — and a sensible one.

This is what's needed at Old Trafford in terms of the bigger picture. Everyone speaks about their issues on the pitch but you have to get things right off it first.

A good example is when the new owners came in at Newcastle. One of the first things they did was to bring Dan Ashworth into a senior backroom position.

Football clubs at the top level are businesses and when we talk about cultures, standards and behaviours, it all starts with having people in the right leadership roles.

Omar is the perfect man to oversee that and give United a sustained chance at being successful.

Part of the game

For City, the news of Omar joining their bitter rivals will have come as a shock — but it's a part of business.

They have done the same thing in years gone by, poaching figureheads from other leading clubs and hiring those who have excelled elsewhere.

Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano both had previous at Barcelona and eventually proved key in luring Pep Guardiola to City, even though it took them a few years.

When another club makes approaches for your staff members, it's a compliment to how well you're running things and the trajectory you're on.

The beauty of City's structure is they will have planned for things like this and you can guarantee Omar's replacement will be an outstanding candidate.

Before accepting the job at Old Trafford, Omar will have been able to get a feel for where United are at and where they want to go.

He'll have laid out his vision and timescale and they've obviously liked it, so once he's in the door, I'd expect to see more new staff brought in swiftly.

It's not going to be a quick fix but United fans should be upbeat about the impact he can have on their club.

Subdued January

It's been a very slow start to the January transfer window, hasn't it?

Don't ask me why clubs wait until the very last minute to do deals because I genuinely don't know! You'd think they'd know better by now.

Big sides tend to only move in January when the opportunity is right but Arsenal's hunt for a striker is one I could still see coming off before deadline day. 

Ivan Toney's name is the one being mentioned most but it's all going to come down to whether Brentford want to sell him.

What is Toney worth to them? Well, if he's the difference between going down and staying up, he's worth more than £100million.

The Bees are one of the most analytical clubs going, so they'll work out all the percentages with and without Ivan and make a considered decision in response to any bids.

Yes, the Gunners could do with reinforcing their forward line. But at the end of the day, even signing Erling Haaland wouldn't guarantee them the title this season.

They're in a good place, so there's no need to panic. If the right man is available this month, then move. If not, they need to show patience. 

Joleon Lescott was speaking to Matthew Hill