AS Premier League sides up and down the country release their spanking new kits for 2021-22 season, perhaps what wasn’t every fan's first thought is the discrepancy in pricing of replica shorts.

But yes, believe it or not, it really is now.

Saints’ adult fans can get their hands on a pair of the new shorts – home & third – for a reasonable £25, a relatively modest fee for brand new merchandise announced just a week ago.

What is not so modest though, is the heaps of money some unlucky fans will have to part with if they want to fully deck themselves out in their club’s new merch.

Tottenham Hotspur are charging £65 for a pair of their ‘elite’ 2021-22 shorts. I don’t exactly know what is so elite about them but they are still, at the end of the day, shorts.

Chelsea’s 2021-22 match shorts are up at £64.95. That’s shorts, not shirts. £65.

Liverpool aren’t much better, with their match shorts fetching £59.95 on the official club store.

It should be said that all of the named clubs have ‘stadium’ replica shorts available for around £30-35, but with the £30 drop off one can only assume these come with a disappointed glare from the club's accountants.

Arsenal offer a double-dose of shorts too, with their standard pair setting you back £30 and the 'authentic' match pair £43. 

At least Manchester United only stock your standard replica shorts – commanding £10 more than Saints all the same, at £34.95.

The appeal to have exactly the same garments as your favourite stars wear out onto the turf can always be understood, but at £65 a pair I’d expect the club captain to have slept a night in them.

What do you think, would you part with £65 for... shorts?