James Ward-Prowse has stated that Southampton are not getting distracted by the situation surrounding club captain Jose Fonte.

Fonte has been a crucial figure for Southampton's meteoric rise over the years but the defender now seems to be on his way out of the St. Mary's Stadium after handing in a transfer request recently.

As a result, Fonte has not featured at all since the turn of the year and his absence has coincided with Southampton suffering four consecutive defeats in the Premier League.

Midfielder Ward-Prowse has gone on to speak regarding the deadlock between Fonte and Southampton, and has insisted that the Saints are not getting distracted despite their sudden loss of form in recent matches.

The youngster said: "Jose is a massive figure within the dressing room but he's also a top professional.

"It has not really been a distraction because we as a group know it's a situation between Jose and the club.

"It is something that will get resolved sooner rather than later but we know we have massive games coming up. We have not been in the best form lately, we have a massive game in the EFL Cup semi-final against Liverpool and haven't got time to be distracted.

"We have to be fully focused on the job at hand to turn things around."