Tottenham Hotspur will have to make significant cuts if they're relegated from the Premier League, and Roberto De Zerbi is under pressure to deliver top-flight status.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has claimed Tottenham Hotspur will need to make £130million in savings if they're relegated from the Premier League. The Lilywhites are in grave danger of falling into the Championship, with just a point, and a sizeable goal difference, separating them from West Ham in the bottom three.
In fact, the Hammers could leapfrog Spurs when they face Wolves on Friday night. If Nuno Espirito Santo's side leave Molineux with three points, Tottenham won't have the chance to climb out of the drop zone until Sunday afternoon, when they take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
With hundreds of millions on the line, Roberto De Zerbi has been tasked with keeping the Lilywhites in the English top-flight. According to Maguire, Tottenham could lose as much as £275million if they're relegated from the Premier League.
Speaking recently on The Sports Agents podcast, the football accountancy expert said: "I reckon it’s going to be somewhere in the region of £250million to £275million compared to the current season.
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"That's taking into consideration the fact that Spurs have the second highest yield in terms of how much they extract per fan, per match. It's a very sophisticated operation they have… Then, of course, there won’t be the participation in Europe next season."
Even if Tottenham were to cut spending on wages by a third, they'd still boast a record wage bill in the Championship. Maguire continued: "Spurs have already got a very high wage bill by the standards, even of the Premier League.
"It's well over £200 million. And if that was reduced by a third, it would still be by far the record wage bill for the Championship."
In order to balance the books, Maguire reckons Tottenham would need to make £130million in savings. He added: "Spurs this season, even if they finish in the bottom three, are likely to be in receipt of £120million to £130million pounds of broadcast income.
"They've also been in the Champions League. I think you can add £50million pounds to that, so that's £175million. Next season, that's going to drop to around about £45million. So, somewhere the club has got to make £130million worth of savings."
Last week, De Zerbi outlined his plan to keep Spurs in the Premier League. In an interview with club media, the Italian said: "I'm very happy and very proud to be here. I consider Tottenham one of the most important clubs in the world, so I'm very happy.
"I have a big responsibility, it's a big challenge and I'm looking forward to start and to work with the players and to win some games. I watched a lot of games, especially in the last period. I know very well the players.
"I love football, so I watch many, many games per week. I know everything. I know it's a tough moment for Tottenham, I know very well it's a tough moment. It's a difficult moment for everyone at Tottenham.
"I think we have the right qualities to come out from this moment. I believe in the players. I think we have to remember who we are and who the players are, because we have very big players and we have to work on their confidence and the qualities of them.
"They have to show what they are and what they are used to playing."
Turning his attention to the clash in the North East, the Spurs gaffer said: "I think we have to be focused just on the Sunderland game. I don't want to listen to people speaking about the schedule or the Brighton game or the Wolverhampton game.
"Game by game, we have to prepare the players to win the game and to be focused just on the game. We have to play with courage. We have to play with the qualities of the players, because if I accepted this challenge, it's because I have a big confidence in the players and the history of Tottenham football is a very clear style of play.
"We are lucky, I am lucky, because I have big players with big talent and my work is to help the players to show their qualities."