Sky Sports ‘will battle to keep presenter Kelly Cates’ – as she becomes leading external candidate to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day

Sky Sports will reportedly fight tooth and nail to keep hold of presenter Kelly Cates ahead of a potential swoop by the BBC. 

Cates is the leading external candidate to replace Gary Lineker on Match of the Day when he leaves at the end of the season.

While BBC retainers Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan, and Alex Scott are among the favourites to fill their boots, Cates placed third-top in the initial odds reported by Mail Sport.

Cates’ smooth presentation of Sky’s Premier League coverage and previous experience with the BBC stand her in good stead should she be tempted. 

And The Times reports that Sky are preparing to fight hard to combat any advance by her would-be employers. 

She is one of the favourites to succeed Gary Lineker as Match of the Day host next year

‘Kelly is just great to work with — the very opposite of a diva — and is so highly regarded,’ one insider, who has worked with Cates, told the outlet. 

Cates has earned much praise for her anchoring of Sky’s Premier League output, particularly Super Sunday. 

She regularly presents on BBC Radio 5 Live, used to host 606, and has her own podcast called Not Just Football with Hayley McQueen and Christine Lampard. 

Speaking to The Independent this week, she said: ‘Do you know, and you never want to say this, but at the moment I’ve got a really lovely mix of everything.

‘I’ve got TV, live matches, radio, and when it gets towards the end of the season I do live Champions League games too. 

‘I could be at an Olympics or a World Cup during the summer so the balance of everything feels really nice. But I’m not tempting fate.’

Lineker, who took over presenting duties on the flagship BBC show from Des Lynam in 1999, is finally set to bring the curtain down after 26 years, paving the way for a brand new host. The 63-year-old broadcaster is also set to leave the BBC entirely after the 2026 World Cup in America, Mexico, and Canada.

Lineker is the BBC’s highest-paid presenter with a salary of around £1.35million but it’s understood executives want to move the show in a fresh direction.