James Corden is said to be the favourite to replace Gary Lineker as Match of the Day host after he revealed that he will step down as presenter of US show The Late Late Show.
Corden, who has hosted the popular talk show since 2015 after taking over from Craig Ferguson, announced this week that he will be leaving.
Initially, his contract was due to expire this summer, but an extension will see him continue to present the show until spring 2023.
In terms of selecting his next project, speculation is rife about which project he will take up next. According to OLBG, the Sports Betting Community, the 43-year-old has been priced at 4/1 to replace Lineker on Match of the Day, which has been running since 1964.
According to The Daily Star Lineker's future with Match of the Day has come under question in recent months as the 61-year-old is one of the highest-paid figures at the BBC. The former Tottenham and Leicester striker has presented the highlights show since 1999 and is understood to earn £1.36m-a-year, dropping his salary from £1.75-a-year in 2020.
He recently left his role at BT Sport to follow Leicester on their Europa League journey before their group stage exit.
Having fallen down to the Europa Conference League, the Foxes were beaten by Roma on Thursday night in the semi-final, with Lineker taking the trip to Rome.
And there are some question marks as to whether he wants to reduce his commitments towards the end of his media career.
While UK bookmakers tend to suggest Corden will have a shot at the MOTD gig if the opportunity arises, the odds of him hosting a weekend talk show back in the UK are perhaps more realistic.
The Englishman has become a well-known figure in America during the last seven years, inviting guests with the likes of Paul McCartney, Lady Gaga and Michelle Obama on the show.
Corden has been priced at 1/2, while he is a 3/1 shot to become the host of Big Brother and 6/1 to host the X Factor, should he return to television in the near future.
A spokesperson for Coral said of the Gavin and Stacey star and co-creator: "[He's] unlikely to be short of any work offers when he returns to the UK. We make him odds-on to host a late-night chat show on these shores."
The Gavin and Stacey icon is a self-proclaimed West Ham fan and had previously hinted he wanted to return to the UK after feeling "homesick," as he told The Sun in 2020: "Ending the show will always be a bigger family decision than a professional one. It will be about people at home who we miss very, very much, who we are homesick for.
"I also feel like my wife and I have three young children, and they are three young grandchildren that we’ve taken away from people. This probably feels particularly magnified now during the pandemic, but I have an overwhelming feeling that our family has walked to the beat of my drum for a very long time."
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