Sevilla’s Scottish history explained as Robbie Ure move marks a return to the club’s roots

Los Rojiblancos have had a miserable few years, and the expectation is that yet again, they will be in a relegation battle.

They lost experienced firepower earlier in the summer as Alexis Sanchez and Akor Adams both departed, and they have now pinned both their hopes and a significant portion of their budget on a 22-year-old with limited top-level experience.

Ure is a fascinating player: a Scottish centre-forward let go by Rangers a few years ago who has since found his scoring form in Sweden. 15 goals in as many games is not to be sniffed at, but the signing represents both a significant risk and a return to Sevilla’s foundational roots.

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That’s because the Glasgow-born forward is joining a club which was actually founded by Scottish immigrants in Spain.

Burns Night in January 1890 was celebrated by a mixture of Scots and Sevillians, who then founded Sevilla Futbol Club, and it was decided that they would adopt Association Football rules.

Sevilla’s first President, Edward Farquharson Johnston, was from Elgin, while their first ever captain, Hugo MacColl, was also Glaswegian.

Since MacColl’s time at the club, just two Scots have represented Sevilla in official competition: Duncan McVean Thomson in 1915, and Ted McMinn in 1978. Despite the club’s Scottish roots, hardly any have ended up there.

Scottish players in LaLiga are a rare occurrence in general, but Las Palmas did treat us to a season of Scott McKenna and Oli McBurnie two years ago. Now, Ure has made a move that will be of particular interest to those who follow the Scotland national team.

Although it is a nice story in a cultural sense, there is reason to be sceptical that Ure can become the solution for this current iteration of Sevilla.

It seems inevitable that Sevilla will battle relegation again this season after several narrow escapes, but unlike most of the clubs that surround them towards the bottom of the table, this is a team that should be nowhere near danger by default.

Just three years ago, Sevilla won yet another Europa League and were preparing for a campaign in the Champions League. However, the cracks were already apparent, and they rapidly declined.

Last season’s narrow escape saw strikers Adams and Alexis pop up with a few crucial goals. Both have since left the club.

Adding firepower was clearly a priority, but Sevilla have placed considerable responsibility on a player who has never performed in one of Europe’s major leagues. Ure may need time to adapt to both LaLiga and a new country, time that a club fighting near the bottom of the table may not be able to afford him. 

Most other clubs in the relegation battle last season relied upon experienced players for goals: Vedat Muriqi, Fede Vinas, Lucas Boye, Toni Martinez and Ante Budimir all proved to be useful, even for the sides who went down.

The exception to this was Carlos Espi at Levante, but it would be truly remarkable if Ure can replicate such reliable goalscoring form in his first season in a new country.

Whether Ure succeeds or fails at Sevilla may not necessarily be down to him or his ability, but is contingent on his club providing a good platform for him to thrive, and should they find themselves in another managerial merry-go-round mess this season, Ure may be placed under bigger pressure than he would have liked in his debut year at Nervión.