Jermaine Jenas jokes he’d be willing to fight Gary Lineker for Match of the Day gig – but not Alan Shearer

EXCLUSIVE

Published: 23:00, 16 Nov 2023Updated: 23:00, 16 Nov 2023

Jermaine Jenas has jokingly revealed he would fight Gary Lineker to take over his privileged role as Match of the Day host.

The famous football show has been broadcasting highlights of the country’s top-flight fixtures on the BBC for nearly 60 years.

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Lineker [left] has been the iconic face of Match of the Day for nearly 25 yearsCredit: Getty

Premier League football takes centre stage on the programme, one Lineker has presented since 1999 when he took over from Des Lynam.

Former Tottenham and Newcastle star Jenas regularly features as a pundit and has been tipped as a favourite to one day become host.

“You want this job?” Lineker wittily asked him on Saturday’s edition, to which Jenas replied: “No, no, I’m alright, thanks, for now.”

‘Later,” the current host grinned along with his co-pundits, although Jenas seems more than ready to compete for the role if need be.

When he appeared on talkSPORT Drive, Andy Goldstein jokingly asked Jenas if he would fight Lineker for the gig, to which the ex-Spurs midfielder quipped: “Gary? Yeah I’d fight him.”

Pressed as to whether he believes he would win, Jenas remarked: “I’d like to think so!”

However, when BBC pundit and his former Magpies teammate Alan Shearer was humorously proposed as a potential opponent, Jenas was quick to shut down a potential charity scrap.

He remarked: “Yeah I mean, I don’t get where you’re going with this line of questioning to be honest with you! Al was a strange one, I feel like Al has shrunk over the years.

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Jenas joked he would be willing to fight Lineker for the jobCredit: Getty

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But Newcastle legend Shearer is not someone he’d want as an opponentCredit: Getty

“When I first turned up to Newcastle, we used to get changed at St. James’ Park and then catch a coach to training.

“We didn’t have a training ground, so when they signed me, I think somebody said, ‘Take him to the training ground.’

“Bobby Robson was like, ‘No don’t take him to the training ground, take him down the Quayside,’ which is another story. But eventually, once I’ve signed, I turn up at St. James’ Park, got changed.

“I remember looking at Al getting changed and I thought, ‘I’ve got to wear shin pads for training, I didn’t realise.’ We didn’t, his legs were that big, his calves and his ankles were just huge.

“People like him and [Wayne] Rooney, they’re just built that way. But yeah, that Shearer, I’m not fighting him.”

Alongside his work for the BBC, Jenas also features as a pundit and a commentator for TNT Sports.

The 40-year-old has his own experience of presenting too, having held the role as co-host of The One Show since 2020.

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