Aston Villa have denied claims they will spend £2million on redesigning their club badge, insisting it will instead cost less than £80,000.

The Birmingham Mail had reported on Tuesday that the club would spend a hefty sum on making minor alterations to their crest, including removing the word "prepared".

This move drew criticism with Villa needing to cut costs ahead of an almost certain drop to the Championship, but the club have now responded in an official statement.

"The club can confirm that we will be refreshing our badge this summer as part of a comprehensive visual identity rebrand project," the statement reads.

"The whole project has cost less than £80,000 - not the £2m quoted in press reports this week.

"The work, which was undertaken to make us more effective in the digital age, affects club publications, retail products, AVTV graphics, the current and the new official website and the stadium.

"However, we will not be spending significant sums on changing the branding in the ground this summer."

The new design will feature on Villa's shirts next term, manufactured by Under Armour, as the one-time European Cup winners prepare to play outside the top flight for the first time since 1988.

They are currently 15 points from safety at the bottom of the Premier League, with just six games to play, and Saturday's 4-0 defeat to Chelsea came amid fan protests against the club's ownership.