Nantes grant Cardiff extension over Sala payment, Warnock confirms

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock says the club have been given more time by Nantes to pay the first part of the transfer fee for Emiliano Sala.

Sala became Cardiff’s record signing when he joined the Premier League club for a reported £15million last month, but the striker died in a plane crash before making an appearance.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman has promised the club will be “honourable” over the deal but said they want to investigate “anomalies” in the transfer before making a payment.

And Warnock sought to clear up the matter when he spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Cardiff hosting Watford in the Premier League.

“I think there’s been a lot of stuff written – and I know people have got jobs to do – and people are surmising things,” he told reporters.

“I’ve known Mehmet Dalman and he’ll do it in the right way. They’ve asked for an extension and Nantes have allowed it.

“I’ve got confidence in Mehmet to come to a conclusion. Certain things have been done which shouldn’t have been done – certain things shouldn’t have come out [in the media].

“All I can talk about is the football side. I’m convinced Mehmet will bring this to a conclusion.”

| 14′

“C’est un Argentin !”

Nouvelle minute d’applaudissements en l’honneur d’Emiliano Sala, à la 14e minute, comme son numéro lorsqu’il évoluait au @SMCaen 

 | #SMCFCN pic.twitter.com/sG88G1Rsaz

— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) February 13, 2019

Warnock attended Sala’s funeral in Argentina last weekend and he said it was an emotional experience.

“They’re a very close-knit community,” he added. “Everybody came to the wake in the local village hall. I’ve never seen anything like it.

“People coming up to the mother, I don’t know how she coped. They were talking about when he was four years old, seven years old. She was crying her eyes out, but I think she had a bit of closure.

“It was the right thing to do, but it was an experience to see the emotion from everyone. The press were there from every country.”