Macclesfield striker Tom Clare signs up for latest Love Island series in South Africa

Macclesfield FC are allowing one of their star players to take a mid-season break for an "incredible opportunity" - so he can appear on Love Island.

Striker Tom Clare will swap the pitch for three months in the sun after being revealed as the villa's latest contestant.

The 23-year-old is currently the club’s top scorer but has been given an extended period of leave from the Silkmen to "play the field" in the villa.

Producers of the ITV2 show which involves single strangers living together, are already introducing twists to the series, filmed in South Africa.

For the first time ever they are giving the public the chance to choose the first male or female "bombshell" to enter the villa.

Meet the new Love Island contestants
Tom Clare says he's looking for love in the villa. Credit: ITV2 / Youtube

Tom Clare, from Barnsley, has been selected alongside Ellie Spencer, 25, a Business Development Executive at a law firm from Norwich.

The footballer revealed Macclesfield director Robbie Savage often calls him Mr Love Island.

Clare says he is keen to land votes from viewers with his "good vibe", but that he also has big ambitions to find love in the villa.

He said: "Since my ex-girlfriend, no-one’s really come to me and I’ve thought, ‘Wow’. Until I have that, I’m not really going to settle for less.

"Not in a bad way, but the next person I get with, I want to marry."

Clare heads for the popular ITV reality show with Macclesfield eight points clear at the top of the Northern Premier League West Division – the eighth tier of the football structure.

A club statement read: “Despite the fact that we are disappointed to lose a player of Tom’s calibre for the foreseeable future, we also recognise the incredible opportunity that this represents for both him and his family on a personal level.

“Tom remains very much part of our plans here at the Leasing.com Stadium and has expressed his unwavering desire to return to the club after the show."

TV and radio presenter Maya Jama, 28, is hosting for the first time as the winter series makes a post-pandemic return.

Maya will also host the usual summer edition in Majorca later in the year following Laura Whitmore, 37, stepping down.

  • Love Island starts at 9pm on Monday 16 January on ITV2 and ITVX.

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