Emiliano Sala: Cardiff City won’t receive January transfer window deadline extension to replace missing striker

Cardiff City chief executive Ken Choo has spoken to the Premier League after their club-record £15m signing went missing on Monday and is feared dead

Cardiff City will not be granted any additional time to sign a new striker following the disappearance of Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala, the club’s chief executive Ken Choo said.

Sala has not been found after the aeroplane carrying him and one other person disappeared on Monday night, with the 28-year-old now feared dead after “no trace” of the aircraft was found despite a fourth day of search efforts.

The former Nantes FC striker only agreed to join Cardiff last Saturday, but having returned to France to say goodbye to his teammates, his flight from the south-west city to the Welsh capital never arrived after it disappeared off radar at around 8:20pm on Monday.

Cardiff City have been left in shock at the news, and although Sala remains missing, they have said that they are viewing the situation “realistically” and are preparing for the worst after more than three days passed without any sign of him or pilot David Ibbotson.

Yet despite having to comfort players and staff at Cardiff affected by the tragedy while also managing Cardiff’s transfer plans in an attempt to keep them in the Premier League this season, Choo revealed that they will not be granted an extension on next Thursday’s deadline in an effort to replace the £15m club-record signing.

Speaking to Talksport, Cardiff chief executive Choo said: “I think from the club's perspective, we are managing the situation but we have another department that has to continue with looking at the transfers.

“I am basically multi-tasking three or four jobs at once. It is really difficult physically and emotionally and mentally to cope in a situation like this.

“We have to segregate our minds into looking for Emiliano, segregate our minds into helping the family - and the club is trying its best to provide the most care for the family and giving them the information they want, we want to tell them all the facts line-by-line.

“We are still running a business which continues, we still have to meet the transfer deadline.

“We have spoken to the Premier League on how tough it is for us to cope given there are eight days to go and we have been watching Emiliano for months and we got it over the line finally.

“And now we have eight days to go and we don't really know how to cope with this scenario but we have to meet the deadline.

“The bottom line from the Premier League is that you have to meet the deadline like everyone else.”

Ken Choo says he is struggling to balance the search for Sala while running Cardiff (PA)

A number of tributes to Sala have emerged both at the Cardiff City Stadium and in Nantes, while Sevilla forward Wissam Ben Yedder revealed a t-shirt under his jersey after scoring against Barcelona on Wednesday night that read: "For my brother, strength [to] Emiliano Sala."

The Premier League have also confirmed that Cardiff’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal next week will not be rescheduled, with the Bluebirds already out of this weekend’s FA Cup fourth round after losing to Gillingham earlier this month.

It has meant that Choo has spent most of the week speaking with the first-team players to try and help them cope with the incident, and he said that eventually they will all have to “pull up our socks and get on with it”.

“I went to see the first-team yesterday,” Choo added. “I have to ensure the manager is fine, the coaching team is fine, the office staff are fine and the players are fine.

“I spoke to the captain [Sean Morrison] and some of the leaders and they are trying to cope with the situation. The dressing room is pretty sombre, they are all shocked with the situation.

“As chief executive, I have to try and pull them together, to try to get over this and we have a game to play next week.

Sala only agreed to joing Cardiff last weekend (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

“Everyone knows it is difficult, the players are aware of all the facts but we still have to pull up our socks and get on with it.”

Search efforts resumed on Thursday morning with an emphasis on the coastal areas around the Channel Islands of Burhou, the Casquets, Alderney, Jersey, Sark and Guernsey, as well as the north coast of the Cherbourg Peninsula. However, with Guernsey harbour master Captain David Barker admitting that the hopes of finding the pair alive are “faded to almost zero”, the operation has been changed from rescue to recovery in the hope of identifying how the aircraft disappeared without trace.