Shelbourne FC manager Damien Duff has joked that he was not entirely surprised when his goalkeeper decided to trade in the dressing room for the Love Island villa.
Scott van der Sluis has become the latest entrant into the ITV reality show, with the goalkeeper appearing for the first time on Thursday night. The 22-year-old goalkeeper opted to call time on his day job with Shelbourne, a League of Ireland Premier Division side based near Dublin.
In doing so he has followed in the footsteps of Jamie Allen, who left Halifax Town for Love Island, and Tom Clare, who decided to leave Macclesfield after starring on the ITV show. Thankfully former Chelsea winger Duff took Van der Sluis’ decision in good grace.
“I was shocked and saddened that Scott chose a villa in Mallorca full of beautiful, single women over myself, the staff and the players,” Duff joked. “All jokes aside, I thank Scott for his services to Shelbourne FC and we all wish him the very best for the future, whatever that holds.”
Van der Sluis said: “I’d like to thank Shelbourne FC for everything they’ve done for me, the gaffer, the lads, the staff, the fans and people around the club have been brilliant with me since coming in.
“I’ve loved my time at Shels, football is all I’ve ever done, all I’ve ever known. So this is a new and exciting opportunity for a change-up in life.
“Shels are a great club going in the right direction and I look forward to seeing what the lads can achieve. Shels is my club, I’ll be cheering on the lads as a fan when I leave the villa.”
Love Island has a long history of casting sportsmen, with Van der Sluis following Allen, Clare, former Castleford Tigers player Jacques O'Neill, Dennon Lewis and Aaron Simpson.
Lewis starred in season five of the programme after beginning his career at Watford and playing for National League side Boreham Wood. Simpson was in the seventh series after assisting in Sutton United promotion to League Two. Meanwhile, Toby Aromolaran, who was in the 2021 edition of the show, is a semi-professional footballer for Hashtag United.
Writing in his Mirror Football column, Macclesfield director of football Robbie Savage explained why he was happy for Clare to have his shot at fame in the villa. He wrote: “I simply cannot deny a 23-year-old lad an opening which could turn into the opportunity of a lifetime. Tom came to see me and Macclesfield owner Rob Smethurst about five weeks ago and said he had something to tell us.
“For a few moments, we panicked and braced ourselves for a terrible revelation. Then he said, “I've had an offer to go on Love Island – what do you think?”
“First of all, he's a great lad. Second, it was decent of him to ask us – he didn't go behind our backs. Third, what is right for Tom, who is in and out of our starting XI, may not be right for our prolific striker James Berry”.
