Cardiff City have contacted other Premier League clubs in an attempt to establish whether there may be grounds to avoid paying the full £15 million transfer fee being demanded by Nantes for Emiliano Sala, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Letters sent in the past few days by lawyers acting for the club request help in “fighting off Nantes’ legal claim”, according to one source.
They ask clubs for assistance in “sharing your knowledge of Sala as a player”.
The correspondence from a Cardiff law firm describes Sala as “the player that Cardiff tried to sign”, phrasing which makes it clear that the club believe they may not have to pay all — or indeed any — of the record transfer fee.
Details of the letters — which Cardiff on Saturday confirmed were sent — emerged as manager Neil Warnock and chief executive Ken Choo arrived in Argentina for the player’s wake and funeral.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Cardiff’s decision to approach Premier League clubs publicly linked with Sala is partly motivated by transfer broker Willie McKay’s admission in an email to the striker that he had sought to artificially inflate the price.
McKay told Sala he had told the media of rival interest “just to stimulate interest in you”.
The club are seeking to establish whether there was indeed any interest at all from other clubs.
McKay’s email to Sala listed Everton and West Ham as clubs he had linked the player to, though Crystal Palace, Fulham, Burnley and Wolves were also reported to be keen.