Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan says he is close to agreement with creditors Langston which would result in the Premiership newcomers becoming debt-free, reports BBC News. The debt to Langston - whose spokesman is former Cardiff City owner Sam Hammam - was taken out in 2004, and is thought to be about £24m.

Tan said his total investment in the club so far would be about £120m.

Mr Tan, speaking at a news conference at the University of South Wales in Treforest, said: "We are talking to Sam Hammam to try to resolve the Langston issue.

"I have been talking to Sam," he said.

"We have been friendly, talking. I like to regard Sam now as my friend and we will come around and resolve this.

"We are, I think, days away from an agreement."

Mr Tan said if the deal could be done, he could "convert all my loans to equity and make the club financially much more secure and hopefully debt-free".

He added: "That's my goal - to make the club debt-free, so that the club won't be under any threat and after that we just have to manage it prudently, run it like a business."