Gary Lineker already has 'ready-made replacement' as Match of the Day host's future at BBC remains unclear

Former BBC pundit Mark Lawrenson believes there is already someone primed to step into Gary Lineker's Match of the Day shoes.

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WHAT HAPPENED?
Amid uncertainty around Lineker's future with the BBC - there are rumours that his current contract is up at the end of the season, Lawrenson named popular Match of the Day 2 anchor Mark Chapman as the person he sees as being ideal to take on the role next.

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THE BIGGER PICTURE
'Chappers' is a veteran and well-respected broadcaster in his own right. He began on Match of the Day 2 and other BBC football programmes as a relief presenter in 2009, before getting the former gig permanently in 2013. The 51-year-old has also fronted BBC coverage of the NFL and rugby league in the past, while he has been Sky Sports' Carabao Cup anchor since 2022. Chapman is currently thought to earn up to £264,999 ($344,000) yearly, compared to Lineker's industry-leading £1.3 million ($1.6m).
WHAT MARK LAWRENSON SAID
"I still tune in regularly [to Match of the Day]. It is still a very good programme, full stop," Lawrenson told Metro.co.uk. "I know there is a lot of speculation over Gary at the moment. Would it surprise me if he left at the end of the season? Possibly no. But he has earned the right to make his own decision, there is no doubt there whatever. And in Chappers, there is a ready-made replacement if it goes that way. It will be up to Gary."

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DID YOU KNOW?
Lineker has been the BBC's lead football anchor, which includes Match of the Day hosting duties, since taking over from Des Lynam in 1999. He had turned his hand to media work and punditry with the corporation as soon as he retired from a stellar playing career in 1994. But since 2014, Lineker has had his own production company, while in 2021 he branched out into the entertainment world as the face a short-lived ITV gameshow.
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WHAT NEXT FOR GARY LINEKER?
It seems it will be for Lineker, who will shortly turn 64, to decide what he wants to do and whether working on BBC programmes continues to fit into that. Outside of the BBC, he started hosting his own podcast, The Rest is Football, in 2023 alongside Alan Shearer and Micah Richards, which the podcast arm of his production firm makes.

WHAT HAPPENED?