Sources have suggested that American Idol bosses are hoping to replace Simon Cowell on next year’s season, with pop superstar Madonna.

Simon Cowell will be leaving the show, so that he can concentrate on his new American X Factor series and Idol boss Simon Fuller is said to be desperate to land an equally big star to fill his seat.

A source told The Sun: “Simon is going to leave a gaping hole. Not only is he an expert, he’s also a big star in the States.

“Everyone agrees Madge would be great and they want her as a full-time judge. But if that fails they’d at least like her as a mentor.”

Chatting to Oprah Winfrey about who should replace him last week, Simon insisted that it should be someone that “actually knows what they’re talking about”.

“Everyone’s talking about casting a nasty person or getting another Brit,” he explained. “If we were judging the ice skating Olympics, you wouldn’t have somebody on who’s obnoxious, you’d have somebody who knows the difference between a ten, a nine and an eight. I think, to a point, you kind of have to go back to that.”

Does Madonna fit the bill then? We think she would be a great judge and she certainly has a lot of experience in the industry. However, with Idol being regarded as a bit of a sinking ship at the moment, will any big named star join the panel, when chances are it will be phased out if Cowell’s X Factor takes off?