Gary Lineker makes feelings clear after being replaced on Match of the Day
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Gary Lineker has sung the praises of Kelly Somers after she stepped in for him on Match of the Day. Somers was on hosting duties for the iconic highlights show for the first time on Sunday (December 29) night in Lineker's absence and prior to her debut, he was effusive in his praise for the 34-year-old. The programme's long-term future looks to be sealed after the former Leicester striker announced he was quitting.
Lineker revealed that he will be leaving the role back in November. After an exhaustive search it was reported that the Beeb had elected for not one, but three replacements for the iconic ex-England forward, with Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Kelly Cates set to share.
While it doesn't look like Somers will be a permanent fixture on MOTD going forward, he had full faith in the Amazon Prime presenter's abilities when it came to helming the show. Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast on Sunday evening, Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer all spoke highly of her.
After Lineker announced to his colleagues that Somers was taking over the reins of the show for the evening, Richards said: "Oh, she deserves a chance. She was excellent in the Euros.". Somers' expertise has seen her deployed by the BBC to report at the European Championships in 2021, the World Cup in 2022 and Euro 2024, where she was often seen interviewing ex-England manager Gareth Southgate and many of the Three Lions' star players.Lineker said: "Oh, she's really good. I like Kelly a lot. And she's very much a football reporter, person, commentator, broadcaster, etc. So we wish her well, but it would have already happened. She'll do well. If you know what I mean." Shearer then interjected, saying: "She'll be great. She'll be great.".
