Romeu: I wasn’t expecting Ward-Prowse going anywhere else

The Saints skipper was the subject of intense speculation over a move to Aston Villa over the summer.

The Daily Echo understands Saints turned down a bid of £25million from the Birmingham side back in July – Ward-Prowse has gone on to seal a fresh five-year deal at the club last month.

Asked whether he was happy to see Ward-Prowse commit his future to Saints, Romeu said: “If you want me to be honest, I wasn’t expecting Prowsey going anywhere else other than here.

“He belongs to the club and the club belongs to him.

“It is the perfect relationship. He has been coming up through the academy and doing really well, started as a young lad. He improves his game being the main leader now and doing a great job.

“I knew there were some rumours in the summer of some clubs linked with him but I just did not see that happening. I would say he wasn’t even considering any of those options. He loves being here.

“The fact that he is staying here long is great news for everyone around here, definitely.”

Ward-Prowse was initially named in Gareth Southgate’s provisional Euro 2020 group but did not make the final cut for the main squad.

He also missed out on selection for this month’s internationals.

Asked whether he felt his midfield partner was overlooked internationally, Romeu replied: “It is tough to say. There is a lot of quality in that team right now and it’s hard to get in.

“I would personally think he is one of the players you should always have there, because he gives you different positions, he gives you set-pieces, he gives you so much work-rate - comfortable on the ball.

“The manager will have his decisions – he will know when he picks his players. It’s probably not easy to choose among all those players.”

Ward-Prowse and Romeu have started every Premier League game for Saints this season. They are expected to pair up again in midfield for Saturday’s home clash with West Ham.