"Jadon Sancho beefed up and working hard. Manchester United must regret selling him," was the headline of an article written by former Chelsea player at the weekend. Sancho has improved since moving during to Stamford Bridge but he couldn't have possibly regressed much more.

It would be wrong to suggest Sancho was at rock bottom in Manchester but the wheels had spectacularly fallen off his career and the only way was up after a spell out of the game.

Sancho's loan move to Borussia Dortmund last January provided him with a lifeline and a route away from United but it was telling they didn't come to the table again in the summer.

READ MORE: Kobbie Mainoo contract 'stance' made clear with Manchester United 'monitoring' PSG striker

READ MORE: I followed 'grumpy' Viktor Gyokeres at Coventry City - this is why Manchester United need him

Although Dortmund plastered Sancho all over their social media, they weren't prepared to sign him on a permanent deal and it went down to the wire to arrange an exit on deadline day.

Chelsea agreed an eleventh hour deal to sign Sancho on a season-loan loan with an obligation to buy, which felt like the best piece of business United conducted in the entire window. It was imperative that a departure for Sancho was arranged and staff worked late to push it through.

Sancho didn't pull up any trees during his loan with Dortmund and has gradually found his feet again at Chelsea, although he could score 20 goals in the Premier League from now until the remainder of the season and United still wouldn't have any regrets about letting him go.

Everybody knows there is a talented player in Sancho. Everybody saw that when he was a teenager. The problem was the exciting version of Sancho that dazzled after leaving Manchester City for Dortmund never arrived at Old Trafford and his performances for United were abysmal.

Sancho contributed 12 goals and six assists in 83 United appearances and left under a dark cloud. He is starting to show some of his previous verve for Chelsea but he's still far from the elite player he was expected to become and there will be no bitterness from United if he reaches his full potential.

The 24-year-old didn't have what it requires to represent United - it takes a special player to thrive under intense scrutiny - and can still have a fulfilling career, but it was time to move on and the suggestion that United should regret his exit to Chelsea ignores the obvious facts.

The same can be said about Mason Greenwood, who is another former United player to have made a few headlines on the back of a few strong performances for Olympique Marseille.

The circumstances around the departures of Sancho and Greenwood were entirely different, but United also won't regret the latter's exit, regardless of what he achieves in his career.

It wouldn't have been a good look for Greenwood to have reported to the first day of pre-season, especially for an ownership attempting to distance themselves from past mistakes.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe's popularity has plummeted in the last few months but his leadership team deserve credit for arranging a swift sale of Greenwood to Marseille for €31.6million (£26.6m).

Ratcliffe contributed to the decision to sell Greenwood and the club believed his exit delivered on their commitment that he would continue his career elsewhere. United also inserted a sell-on clause into the deal to earn a sizable share of any future transfer of the forward.

Sancho and Greenwood had to leave for different reasons and United will never regret their departures, even if they go on to win the Ballon d'Or each in their respective careers.