A producer has made a sensational claim about Gary Lineker's future at the BBC.
The 63-year-old, who joined the BBC's TV team in 1995, has been an ever-present figure on our screens, hosting shows like Match of the Day, Sportsnight and Football Focus.
Lineker has also presented live coverage of several major tournaments, following the efforts of England in their often-agonsing bid for silverware on the international stage.
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But unlike other competitions, Lineker is being encouraged to be more “honest” while presenting this summer's Euros coverage, according to The Times.
BBC bosses reportedly want to capture the chemistry between Lineker, Alan Shearer and Micah Richards after their success on popular podcast, The Rest Is Football.
“We encourage all our pundits to be honest with their opinions and to be themselves, to really ensure we are talking about the topics in a way that informs and educates the audience,” a BBC insider said.
That controversial tone has certainly been on show since England's opener against Serbia on June 16.
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Lineker and Shearer gave a lengthy analysis of Harry Kane's lack of influence in their game against Denmark, describing his impact as "minimal".
Kane later responded to criticism from pundits at BBC and other broadcasters during his press conference ahead of England's final group match against Slovenia.
Lineker, who also accused Gareth Southgate of "hanging Trent Alexander-Arnold out to dry" amid his so-called midfield experiment, has been more critical than usual.
One unnamed sports producer from The Times' report shared his views on the situation.
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“It’s a lot more frank and sweary — and in that format Lineker is more able to voice his opinion,” they said. “Plus I think he knows that this is his last tournament, and he doesn’t give a f***”.
Despite his groans about England of late, Lineker was encouraged by their performance against Slovenia on Tuesday night.
“In the second half, I thought you could see that if this team continue to play a high press, chances will come," he said.
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"And we may have been playing that way because Slovenia knew that a draw would get them through. So they were cautious and sat back a little bit. I understand that. But I saw enough to suggest that England are improving slightly.
“Now, I think there were downsides but I think there were real positives, particularly, I thought, when Cole Palmer came on.
“We were still unbalanced on the left, no question about that, and I thought it was a little baffling that he waited so long for Anthony Gordon to come on, because I think [Phil] Foden was playing there but then he was switching with [Jude] Bellingham and I don’t think that really helped either of them in a way, because they were neither here nor there."
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Lineker added: “I’m trying to put a positive spin on it. What I did see in the second half was energy and I haven’t seen energy, apart from the first half an hour of the first game, in the other performances.
“England have got through, they’ve won the group. they might play the Netherlands in the next round but they might not. So, I think there’s enough there in the second half, enough there just to make me think for the first time this England team has some energy, which they hadn’t before.”
Topics: Gary Lineker, England, Euro 2024
Jack Kenmare