Jermaine Jenas has previously expressed his interest in taking over the reins of Match of The Day from Gary Lineker. Lineker, who has been at the helm of the popular BBC football programme for a quarter of a century since succeeding Des Lynam, has less than two years remaining on his current contract.
It has sparked rumours about his potential successor if he chooses to step down from the long-standing role. Jenas, who is already a co-host of The One Show and made his presenting debut on Match of the Day 2 last year, was questioned in 2023 about his aspirations to host the main show in the future.
The ex-Tottenham player confessed he would "obviously be up for it", but also emphasised that he didn't believe Lineker's tenure as anchor was nearing its end, as reported by the Mirror. The 41-year-old is no stranger to the Match of the Day presenter's chair, having admitted that he had been "practising" with the autocue to get a feel for the top job.
Speaking on That Peter Crouch Podcast recently, the former Newcastle star revealed that he would rehearse the show while Lineker was in makeup. "When I do Match of the Day, there used to be a woman called Michelle who used to do Gary's autocue. So when Gary was in makeup I used to go run and jump in the seat and be like 'look Michelle let's do the autocue," he said.
"She was like 'go on quick do it' and we'd just run through the whole show. I was just practising and that wasn't me going 'oh I want to do Gary's job' It was me just thinking 'right, what's it like in this seat, for him, to present', because I wanted to know what it felt like" he added.
The former England star revealed that pretending to take over Lineker's role was just for a "laugh", but it made him realise he didn't want to stay a pundit forever. He said: "She'd kind of go 'ah yeah you've messed up there', we'd have a laugh with it. Then he'd come and go 'get out the seat. I think it was more I knew I didn't just want to be a pundit my whole life, as much as I love it."
In 2019, Lineker himself suggested Jenas 'would be good' at hosting when asked who he would like to see replace him. He also teased Jenas on Match of The Day last year, with the ex-Leicester striker jokingly challenging Jenas saying: "You want this job?" to which Jenas responded: "No, no, not yet", with a grin.
In addition to his roles on The One Show and Match of the Day 2, Jenas has also stepped in for an FA Cup highlights show and presented the draw for the World Cup in 2022. In a 2023 interview with The Mail, he expressed his willingness to take over should Lineker step down, stating that he "loved" his brief stint hosting MOTD's sister programme.
"I would obviously be up for it... it's Match of the Day and it would be a great opportunity," he said. "I haven't thought that far ahead but I hosted Match of the Day 2, which was the first one I've ever done. I loved it, it felt comfortable to me, it felt normal, and I love doing The One Show as well. I feel quite blessed that I'm even in people's minds that it's something I could take on given how big the show actually is." he added.
Despite his clear ambitions to host the show, Jenas said that he believes Lineker still has plenty of energy left for presenting the iconic show. He added: "Gary has got plenty of legs in him and I don't see him going anywhere soon but when that day comes which it will do, I would like to think that I am at least thought about to fill the position. If that is the case then I would obviously jump at it."
Jenas is not only confident in his ability to step into Lineker's shoes, but bookmakers also seem to favour the former Nottingham Forest player as a potential host. Betting sites currently have him as the favourite for the job, with ex-England Lionesses star Alex Scott trailing behind in second place.
Lineker, who continues to be the BBC's highest earner with an annual salary of £1.35million according to this week's published figures, will not be presenting the corporation's new Champions League highlights show next season. Instead, Gabby Logan will take the helm.
