Scott van-der-Sluis (born 9 January 2001) is a Welsh professional footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper. In 2023, he appeared as a contestant on the tenth series of Love Island and the fifth series of Love Island USA, as well as the spin-off Love Island Games.
 Van-der-Sluis playing for Bangor City in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | Scott van-der-Sluis | ||
| Date of birth | 9 January 2001 | ||
| Place of birth | Connah's Quay, Wales | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2010 | Manchester United | ||
| 2010–2014 | Liverpool | ||
| 2015–2018 | Swansea City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2018–2019 | Swansea City | 0 | (0) |
| 2019 | → Merthyr Town (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2020 | Northwich Victoria | 11 | (0) |
| 2020 | Runcorn Linnets | 6 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | City of Liverpool | 1 | (0) |
| 2021–2022 | Bangor City | 8 | (0) |
| 2022-2022 | Runcorn Linnets | 5 | (0) |
| 2022–2023 | Shelbourne | 0 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2014-2016 | Wales U15 | 6 | (0) |
| 2016 | Wales U16 | 3 | (0) |
| 2017 | Wales U17 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:43, 17 August 2023 (UTC) | |||
Club career
editEarly career
editVan-der-Sluis signed for Manchester United as an eight-year-old in 2009. A boyhood Liverpool fan, he moved to the Reds' academy in 2010 and spent five seasons with the club.
After leaving Liverpool in 2015, Van-der-Sluis joined Swansea City and moved to South Wales for four years, leaving at the expiration of his contract in 2019.[1]
He also played in the English non-league system, for Northwich Victoria, Runcorn Linnets and Merthyr Town.[2]
Bangor City
editIn 2021, Van-der-Sluis came back to his native North Wales and signed for Cymru Leagues club Bangor City, quickly establishing himself as club-captain. However, following a Football Association of Wales league suspension that stopped the club from playing matches, Van-der-Sluis left the club in early 2022.[3]
Shelbourne
editOn 16 June 2022, Van-der-Sluis signed for League of Ireland Premier Division club Shelbourne.[4][5] On 26 August 2022, he made his debut for Shelbourne, keeping a clean sheet in a 4-0 FAI Cup win against Bonagee United.[6] On 30 November 2022, he renewed his contract with Shelbourne for the upcoming 2023 season.
In June 2023, it was announced that he had left the club without making a league appearance, in order to participate on Love Island; Shelbourne manager Damien Duff said Van-der-Sluis would not be returning to the club.[7]
International career
editHe has represented Wales at U15, U16 and U17 level a total of 10 times, winning the Victory Shield in 2015.[8]
Personal life
editVan-der-Sluis is the younger brother of former footballer Jamie Reed.
Love Island
editIn 2023, Van-der-Sluis was confirmed as a contestant on the tenth series of Love Island, entering the villa as a "bombshell" on Day 11.[9] He was dumped alongside Abi Moores on Day 52.[10] Less than a month after being dumped from British version, Van-der-Sluis joined the fifth series of Love Island USA. He was eliminated after just one week.[11] He then took part in the spin-off Love Island Games, where he was dumped after three days.[12] Since Van-der-Sluis has appeared on three different versions on the Love Island franchise in under three months, he is the one of the most frequent contestant to appear in the show's history.[13]
References
edit- ^ Coleman, Tom (18 May 2019). "The full Swansea retained list as Fer and other big names leave". WalesOnline. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "The Official Runcorn Linnets FC Web Site". www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Bangor City suspended over unpaid wages". BBC Sport. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Shelbourne announce signing of Welsh goalkeeper Scott Van der Sluis". Shelbourne FC. 16 June 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ Andrew Dempsey (1 July 2022). "League of Ireland: Confirmed summer signings in the 2022 Premier & First Division". Pundit Arena. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
- ^ "Bonagee United beaten by superb Shelbourne in FAI Cup". 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Damien Duff: 'I was shocked and saddened that Scott chose a villa in Mallorca full of beautiful, single women over myself, the staff and players'". Independent.ie. 15 June 2023.
- ^ "The Official Runcorn Linnets FC Web Site". www.runcornlinnetsfc.co.uk.
- ^ "Who is Scott van der Sluis? Meet the Love Island 2023 contestant and footballer".
- ^ "Love Island stars dump one couple days before final". Digital Spy. 26 July 2023.
- ^ "New Love Island bombshell confirmed as League of Ireland goalkeeper Scott van der Sluis". Independent.ie. 15 June 2023.
- ^ "The complete Love Island Games line-up and all the ex contestants". Capital. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ^ "Scott van-der-Sluis reveals what fans can expect from Love Island Games: 'It's very different' | Goss.ie".