Gary Lineker has presented Match of the Day since 1999 (Image: Getty)
Danny Murphy believes that is the “obvious” and “standout” candidate to replace on from next season. Lineker has been the face of the show since 1999, seemlessly transitioning into the world of broadcasting after enjoying a stellar footballing career with the likes of , and .
However, the 64-year-old’s tenure with MOTD comes to an end at the same time the 2024/25 campaign finishes, despite signing a contract extension with the last month. Lineker will continue to lead the coverage for the broadcaster for 2025/26 – 35 years on from lifting the prestigious trophy as a player. He will also be the lead host for their coverage of the , while continuing to work on the MOTD Top 10 podcast and The Rest is Football podcast.
In similar fashion to Lineker, Murphy also made the move to the world of punditry after hanging up his boots in 2013. The former midfielder has frequently appeared alongside Lineker on Match of the Day.
And after working alongside a whole host of staff, Murphy has confessed that MOTD2 host Chapman, 51, is the best person to fill Lineker’s shoes next year. Speaking to , he explained: “The obvious candidate to replace on Match of the Day for me is Mark Chapman. He’s worked on Match of the Day 2 for a long time and he’s brilliant at his job.
“Working with Gary has been an absolute pleasure and he’s outstanding at what he does. Working with Chappers is also a huge pleasure – he’s so calm and comfortable in the seat and he’s incredibly knowledgeable about football.
“Presenting is a job that is more difficult than people think – my attempt at reading autocues and presenting the shows off-camera have been horrendous. With that in mind, I really admire anyone who has the ability and the confidence to sit in that seat, and I think Chapman is the standout candidate. He’s a wonderful presenter and very popular.”
Lineker will leave Match of the Day at the end of the season (Image: Getty)
It comes after Murphy also recently praised Lineker for his “welcoming” demeanour during his stints with Match of the Day, explaining to talkSPORT: “I’ll never forget how he treated me and how welcome he made me, how good he made me feel. You know, Gary’s a friend of mine, and he’s been phenomenal to me since the day I walked in the building.
“And a warm, charismatic, intelligent man who knows his football and has become part of everybody’s furniture, if you like, on a Saturday evening. I’ll just tell you quickly, I mean, from my first… I’d done a few shows, and he was always great.”
He added: “[He is] just a very intelligent football man, loves his football. You know, him and his sons, they all love the football as well. And he’s doing so many good things.”
Mark Chapman is a top candidate for the Match of the Day job (Image: Getty)
While Chapman is a strong option for Lineker’s job, there are other presenters in the running, such as Kelly Cates, Alex Scott, David Jones, Gabby Logan, Jules Breach and Kelly Somers.
Chapman, 51, kicked off his broadcasting career with the in 1996, working as a continuity announcer for One and Two before becoming the cricket correspondent for North East.
After working with Sara Cox and Scott Mills on Radio 1’s Newsbeat, Chapman went on to join Radio 5 Live to host 5 Live Sport on Monday evenings. He became the main stand-in presenter for Final Score and Match of the Day 2 in 2009, before becoming the permanent host of the latter following the departure of Colin Murray in 2013.
He has recently been working on Sky Sports too, leading their coverage of the Carabao Cup.