Mark Chapman will have the honour of hosting the first Match of the Day programme of the post-Gary Lineker era, according to a report.
The start of the Premier League season this week marks the return of the iconic BBC show that will, for the first time in over a quarter of a century, not be anchored by the former England striker.
Lineker bowed out as host at the end of last season having been embroiled in an anti-Semitism scandal, for which he later apologised.
In January, it was confirmed that Mark Chapman will team up with Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan to host the BBC’s flagship football show and it has now been claimed that the former will get the nod on opening night.
According to The Telegraph, Chapman – who has been a regular on the BBC for a number of years, usually anchoring Match of the Day 2 coverage on a Sunday – will be joined by the returning Alan Shearer and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney.
Rooney has been out of management since leaving Plymouth Argyle by mutual consent on New Year’s Eve after a challenging seven-month spell in charge. It was his fourth managerial role in as many years, following stints with Derby County , DC United and Birmingham City .
Mark Chapman (middle) will reportedly host the first Match of the Day programme of the post-Gary Lineker era this weekend. He will share duties with Kelly Cates (left) and Gabby Logan (right) throughout the campaign
Lineker bowed out as host at the end of last season having been embroiled in an anti-Semitism scandal for which he later apologised
The 39-year-old has made no secret of his enjoyment of punditry since stepping back from coaching, appearing on Amazon Prime Video for Champions League coverage and joining the BBC as a guest on Match of the Day.
He will will earn £800,000 over two years with the BBC.
The tidy sum would make him among the highest earners at the organisation, with the BBC’s latest annual report showing only seven people earned more than £400,000 a year.
They included Shearer, who was third on the list after taking home an estimated £440,000.
Though, their earnings are dwarfed by Lineker’s annual salary of around £1,350,000.
Additionally, the recent report claims that Match of the Day’s sister programme on Sunday will drop the ‘2’ from its title, with the first edition of the rebranded show set to be aired this weekend.
