Many Southampton fans have been reacting to the news that Aston Villa are to submit a bid which is lower than the £50m the Saints are seeking for James Ward-Prowse.

The Saints are preparing for the new season and will be looking to improve on their 15th-placed finish in the Premier League last term. Ward-Prowse is likely to be integral to their hopes - he is their club captain, after all, while he has played the entirety of every league match across the last two seasons (Transfermarkt).

Aston Villa have been heavily linked with a move for the England international across the summer and are even said to have had a bid rejected for him (Sky Sports). As per @SaintsExtra, Villa believe it could take up to £50m to capture Ward-Prowse this summer, but they will still make another bid for less than that amount.

The news was shared on Twitter by @SaintsExtra and it attracted plenty of attention from Saints supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let's see what these fans had to say about the Ward-Prowse news

"Haha 50m, they gotta be joking"

Credit: @MRankin8_

"Banter club"

Credit: @saints_josh2

"Realistically even if we were open to selling him, that ship has probably sailed. Like, 10 days to the start of the season"

Credit: @Conor_SFC

"Lower than 50m, Jog on Villa"

Credit: @sfcwill_

"Villa wouldn’t be pushing this hard if they didn’t think it was viable. We all know the board will sanction it if the price is right and Prowsey wants to leave."

Credit: @SFC_Debs

"they’re so desperate"

Credit: @vestergodSFC

In other news, Southampton fans want to sign this Ligue 1 defender.