The actual consequences should Spurs be relegated

Spurs are just 5 points from danger

After a lacklustre 6 months at the helm, Thomas Frank has left new manager Igor Tudor with something of a mountain to climb.

The Lilywhites are just 5 points from the drop zone, a margin that could be cut down to 2, should Spurs lose in Sunday's north London derby, and if other results go against them.

The dire situation at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is something that is being taking very seriously by players at the club, and by those in charge of the lucrative sponsorship deals that Spurs rely on.

While Tudor will do everything in his power to avoid the fate, the concequences of a relegation would be monumental.

18+ Be Gamble Aware

The Athletic report it is likely the vast majority of Spurs' first-team squad would depart the club in the event of a relegation.

Despite the club's current position, Spurs can boast some of the most high-profile players in Europe, few of whom would be prepared to sacrifice a year from their prime to second-tier football.

In defence, the Athletic expect all of; Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. Kevin Danso and Djed Spence, to be in need of replacement should the impossible happen.

It's much of the same story in midfield and attack.

New man Conor Gallagher was pursued by Aston Villa before joining Spurs in January and, whether with Villa or not, he would surely have no issue in finding a new club in the Premier League.

The same can be said of Dominic Solanke, Mohammed Kudus, James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons and Richarlison.

It seems as though, essentially all of the better-known parts of Spurs' first-team would look for a summer departure, if the north Londoners are relegated.

The only positive that can be gleamed from the prospect is that it could offer space for Spurs' younger and exciting talents to thrive, like Luka Vuskovic, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore.

Odobert recently suffered an ACL tear so would be unlikely to leave this summer, while Moore is on loan at Rangers.

Financial impacts of relegation

Sponsorship deals would certainly be affected, with The Telegraph recently reporting that the club have already lost a key commercial partner worth "tens of millions of revenue" to Spurs, regardless of their relegation status at the end of the season.

The company, who remained anonymous in reports, may turn out to be just one of many to either abandon the club, or negotiate new terms in light of relegation.

Spurs' current shirt sponsor (AIA) have a deal that expires at the end of next season.

With a reduced audience in the Championship, it seems very unlikely that the club would be able to achieve as strong a deal as they currently have in place.

According to Mike Jackson, chief executive of Elite Sports Marketing, quoted by the Athletic: "Conversations (with AIA) are probably happening as we speak.

"Tottenham will understand that AIA will not pay a Premier League rate (the contract is reported to be worth £40million per year) for a Championship club.

"They will not get the billions of eyeballs in the Championship that they would in the Premier League, and the reputational harm of not renegotiating the deal is not worth it in the long term.

"Having assessed the Championship market, it could be around the £4million to £5m range.”

Aside from changes to sponsorships, Spurs would also lose access to the Premier League's lucrative TV rights deals: worth £6.7billion for the years 2025-29.

The EFL equivalent —split between the 72 EFL clubs rather than just 20 in the Premier League— is worth £935m over five years. Championship clubs are estimated to earn £3-4 million per season from their broadcasting deal.

While the situation for Tottenham Hotspur is certainly drastic, the likelihood of it playing out all depends on the final weeks of the season.

There are still 36 points to be won between now and May, and if Igor Tudor can get his squad firing again, it is possible for the question of potential relegation to vanish.

He begins that campaign against Arsenal on Sunday.