During a transfer window, there is the school of thought that if you have to sell a player, for one reason or another, it makes the most sense to agree to a deal with a team that is not a direct rival.

It stands to reason really considering that a player, no matter their current position in the seller's club, could go on to have a significant impact for a club that is directly challenging them. It is no surprise then that Manchester United, during their history, have looked to avoid this scenario.

That's not to say they haven't bought from rivals before. In fact, under Erik ten Hag, United have purchased Mason Mount from Chelsea. It was even done under previous regimes, including when Juan Mata came to Manchester from London.

However, in this window, United are weighing up the very real possibility of selling Jadon Sancho to Chelsea. This decision has left some scratching their heads, particularly considering the frosty relationship between the player and Ten Hag has been resolved and the fact that Juventus were keen on him as recently as this week.

When Jose Mourinho was asked why he was selling Mata to United in 2014, the Portuguese icon was relaxed about the transfer. "A team can only play with 11 players, not 12," he said.

"Arsenal is full of top players, City is full of top players, and United is full of top players, so if Juan plays for them it means somebody else is not playing. So why not? Every club does this in other countries, so what's the problem to do it here?

"If a similar situation happens (and) instead of us, instead of Man United, it's Arsenal or Manchester City or Tottenham or Liverpool, we would do the same. If the offer was the same and Juan desired to go, it would be the same."

Without saying it in as many words, Mourinho's stance is simple and probably the same thought process that Ten Hag has gone with this summer. If you are backing that your current squad can still perform without that player, it does not matter which club they are sold to.

We already know that Sancho is behind the likes of Amad, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford in the pecking order. If he does leave, United are not desperate for a replacement, hence why the Raheem Sterling talk has not gone anywhere.

Therefore, United are not worried to sell him to a direct rival, and it is clearly seen as a win-win scenario.