Anthony Martial's move to Sevilla: Was Ronaldo's arrival at Manchester United a 'death knell' for the striker?

Anthony Martial, who played a crucial role in Manchester United's late winner against West Ham at Old Trafford on Saturday, is all set to move to Sevilla after the Red Devils agreed to loan the forward to the Spanish club for the rest of the season. According to reports, Sevilla is paying a fee of about 6 million euros and covering Martial's 150,000 pounds-a-week salary.

The Frenchman is expected to fly to Spain on Tuesday to undergo a medical and complete the transfer, days after he had asked to leave Manchester United in search of more game time. The 26-year-old forward drew interest from several other clubs, including Juventus, Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle, but La Liga side Sevilla remained Martial's first choice. 

The striker believes Sevilla is where he will get to play the most. Sevilla, who are second in La Liga - four points behind leaders Real Madrid, do not have the option to buy Martial since he has a contract with the Red Devils till 2024.

Anthony Martial moved to Old Trafford from Monaco in 2015 and has scored 79 times in 269 appearances for Manchester United. However, the Frenchman fell out of favour in the forward position after the signings of legendary Cristiano Ronaldo, young sensation Jadon Sancho, and Mason Greenwood's emergence. Football pundit Tom Williams believes that Ronaldo's arrival at Old Trafford was a 'death knell' for Martial.

In his Transfer Talk podcast, Tom Williams spoke about why Anthony Martial could not hold down a first-team place at Old Trafford. Pointing out at Martial's instability since he came to the club, Williams added that the forward has also played under four different managers, and not all of them have been his biggest fans. "Martial has had injury problems. There is also debate about his best position - is he best on the left or is he best through the middle?" the football expert added.

Insisting that Marcus Rashford's emergence at Old Trafford was unfortunate for Anthony Martial due to the similarity between the two, Williams added, "But also you've got Mason Greenwood, you've got [Edinson] Cavani and now Cristiano Ronaldo."

"When they came out of COVID-19 lockdown and finished the 2019-20 season, Anthony Martial was one of their absolute stars. But last season was a write-off, and now he is out of the picture. He needs to move. Cristiano Ronaldo arriving was probably the death knell for his Manchester United career as the first-choice centre-forward. You suspect that, for both parties, the best thing is for him to move on," Tom Williams concluded.

Anthony Martial has started in just four games for Manchester United this season and was accused by interim manager Ralf Rangnick of asking not to play in the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa on January 15. The 26-year-old forward refuted his manager's claim, and Rangnick later insisted the situation was "resolved".