Darren Bent uses West Ham as to why Man City points deduction isn't viable

Darren Bent has used West Ham United as an example as to why a points deduction may not be enough of a punishment for Manchester City.

Man City were last week found guilty on almost all of the 115 charges they faced relating to financial breaches.

The Citizens continue to deny any wrongdoing and are expected to appeal the decision.

Only should they fail with that appeal will sanctions be handed down, which as of right now remain unknown.

Some have speculated they could be relegated at least one division automatically, while a points deduction and massive fine has also been mooted.

But in the view of former striker Bent, even a huge points deduction may be too lenient.

Would 50-point deduction relegate Man City?

Among the potential punishments put forward, it has been suggested 50 points could be deducted from City.

That may sound like automatic relegation on the face of it, but would that really be the case?

As pointed out by Bent on talkSPORT Drive on Monday evening, City could well stay up even if hit with that mammoth deduction.

"There's no guarantees they'd go down with that. Look at last year, West Ham were third bottom with 39 points," he said.

City would therefore stay up in that scenario with 90 points - or 89 and a better goal difference - which is not entirely out of the question.

Why Man City case could impact West Ham

This is one of the biggest stories in the history of English football. There are no two ways about it.

The most dominant force in the Premier League over the past decade-and-a-half have effectively been found guilty of cheating for a period of that success.

Who knows? It may well be that West Ham are playing in a different division to Man City again next season - in the Premier League.

It could be argued this situation directly impacts West Ham already as Divine Mukasa is on loan at the London Stadium from City.

If they do go down - and that is still very unclear at this point - that is exactly the type of player they are going to need, assuming the big names disappear.

For now, West Ham will watch on as the drama unfolds around them.