BBC drops six long-serving Match of the Day pundits and names four replacements for 2025/26

The BBC has overhauled its Match of the Day pundit lineup for the 2026/27 Premier League season, dropping six familiar faces and adding four new ones in the most significant shake-up to the programme’s analyst roster in years.

Martin Keown, Dion Dublin, Shay Given, Stephen Warnock, Nedum Onuoha and Theo Walcott have all been released from the show. Keown’s departure is the most notable: he first joined the MOTD crew in 2007 and spent nearly two decades as one of its most recognisable voices. Dublin, who became a regular analyst in 2012, also leaves after a long association with the programme. Given and Warnock both joined in 2018 and 2020 respectively, while Walcott had only begun appearing on the show in 2024.

Ashley Young, Robbie Keane, Toby Alderweireld and former Brentford manager Thomas Frank are the four additions to the rotating guest roster. Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Ellen White, Steph Houghton, Danny Murphy and Ashley Williams all retain their places. Presenters Mark Chapman, Kelly Cates and Gabby Logan also continue in their roles.

The reshuffle follows a report in The Sun claiming that several MOTD pundits had considered defecting to Gary Lineker’s new Netflix show, The Rest is Football, and that there had been internal disagreements between unnamed pundits and BBC head of sport Alex Kay-Jelski. The BBC flatly denied both claims, stating: “We have repeatedly told The Sun these anonymous claims are untrue and we look forward to bringing audiences the return of Match of the Day this weekend with its established line-up of presenters and pundits — alongside a host of new guest voices bringing fresh insight from inside the game.”

Alongside the pundit changes, the BBC announced a new fan-focused companion show in which 20 supporters — one representing each Premier League club — will collaborate on content to be distributed via the BBC Sport app’s Shorts feed and the BBC Football YouTube channel. The broadcaster says the initiative will “put supporters at the heart of the football conversation.”

Kay-Jelski said the aim is to reflect what football means to different fans, signalling a broader effort to modernise the corporation’s football output beyond the traditional Saturday-night highlights format.