Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock has spoken of how he managed to convince Emiliano Sala to quit Nantes for the Bluebirds.

The search for Sala and pilot David Ibbotson is continuing this week thanks to a private fund.

Warnock viewed Sala as the player who could score the goals to keep them up.

The Cardiff boss had flown to France to watch him several times, had been tracking him for two months and believed, finally, that the Argentinian striker would fit in perfectly.

“I said to him, he's what I call an ugly footballer, a scruffy footballer," said Warnock. “I said that is why he will go down well with us, not just for his gear (clothes) but he gave everything, 100 per cent, every time he played.

“He didn't always play well, but he scored some great goals and I think he was just so looking forward to the challenge of coming here.

“But I think we would all agree we would rather than Emiliano here and get relegated, do you know what I mean? Life is far more important than football in that respect.

"He came down to see us. He came to the training ground half way through his medical on Friday as we were preparing. He came across to me for a few minutes and I just said to him, looking at his gear he was wearing, I said 'you'll fit in very well with my team.'

“He had holes everywhere in his trousers and looked like a tramp. I said he'd fit in very well with our team because we've got quite a few like that. That's the memory I'll have because we had a laugh. He said 'I'll score you the goals', and I said 'I know you will.'

“I do keep thinking back, I said to him 'why don't you come up to Newcastle and watch us play tomorrow and have a look.' You're not asking yourself should I have made him come up, because it's after the event.

“But he wanted to go back and see his teammates, and family, and get his belongings for the following week so that's what happened. I just thanked him and off we went you know."