Cardiff must pay Nantes the first instalment of £15m Sala fee on Wednesday

Cardiff City must pay Nantes the first instalment of the £15m transfer fee for striker Emiliano Sala on Wednesday.

Argentine Sala, the Bluebirds' record signing, died aged 28 in a plane crash in the English Channel on 21 January.

Cardiff were due to make the first of three instalments on 20 February, but the clubs agreed to extend the deadline by a week.

French side Nantes wrote to Cardiff on 5 February requesting for the first of three instalments.

Cardiff said they were withholding payment until crash investigations were complete and that they were satisfied on "anomalies" around the deal.

Chairman Mehmet Dalman said Cardiff will be "honourable" with Nantes if they are contractually obliged to pay.

French side Bordeaux are due 50% of the fee because of a sell-on clause when they sold Sala to Nantes in 2015.

If the 27 January deadline is not met, the dispute could be referred to world football's governing body Fifa.

His body was recovered but pilot David Ibbotson remains missing.