Argentinian footballer Emiliano Sala was on board a plane that went missing over the English Channel on Monday night, French media have reported.

French media, quoting police sources, said the 28-year-old striker was on the light aircraft that disappeared from radar on Monday night while apparently flying from Nantes to Cardiff.

French media have reported that Sala was driven to the airport by Nantes defender Nicolas Pallois.

Premier League strugglers Cardiff paid a club record fee in the region of £15 million for the footballer, one of the leading scorers in the French Ligue 1.

Sala posted a photo to his Instagram and Twitter accounts on Monday afternoon posing with the rest of the Nantes squad.

He captioned the photo: “The final [heart emoji] goodbye @FCNantes.”

Police on Guernsey said the search for the plane resumed at 8am on Tuesday, adding: “At this time no trace of the missing aircraft had been found.”

The search had been called off at 2am “due to strengthening winds, worsening sea conditions and reducing visibility”.

Police said in a statement that the aircraft left Nantes at 1915 for Cardiff and was flying at 5,000 feet.

The statement added: “The aircraft on passing Guernsey requested descent. Jersey ATC (air traffic control) lost contact whilst it was flying at 2,300 feet.”

Amine Harit, a Moroccan footballer who played with Sala at Nantes before joining German side FC Schalke in 2017, suggested he was praying for the missing player in a tweet.

He wrote simply “Emi..” followed by a string of praying hands and crying emojis.

Nantes forward Randal Kolo-Muani retweeted Harit’s message on his personal account.

Sala’s former club, Chamois Niortais FC, has tweeted that the whole team is thinking of the missing player as the search continues.

“Tell us it’s a joke... Emi.... All the #TeamChamois thinking of you,” tweeted the clubs’s official account.

Guernsey Police said that as of 10:20, there were two helicopters, two planes and one lifeboat searching the area for the missing plane.

Another of Sala’s former clubs, US Orleans, has tweeted their best wishes for the striker and the pilot, both of whom are still missing.

“Sad news this morning, all our thoughts go to the relatives of @EmilianoSala1 and to the relatives of the pilot,” the club’s official account tweeted.

The Channel Islands Air Search aircraft was called out to assist the Guernsey Coastguard’s search efforts at 8.30pm on Monday night.

The Air Search 1 aircraft, combined with the Alderney and St Peter Port lifeboats and two UK Coast Guard helicopters, searched areas extending north and north-west of Les Casquets reef, a spokeswoman said.

She added: “During the search, reports of sightings of red flares were relayed by Guernsey Coastguard near to the island of Burhou, however nothing of significance was found.”

Air Search 1 searched for three hours before returning to Guernsey to refuel and change crew at around midnight.

The aircraft returned to the search area at 8am on Tuesday.

FC Nantes’ next Coupe de France match has been postponed following the disappearance of the plane carrying former striker Sala.

The club was due to play L’Entente SSG in a round of 32 game on Wednesday, but the match has now been moved to Sunday January 27.

Announcing the fixture change on its website, L’Entente SSG sent support to FC Nantes and Sala’s family.

It said the club was thinking of everyone on the missing plane.

A Guernsey Police spokesman said more than 1,000 square miles had been searched by five aircraft and two lifeboats by 11.45, but added: “There has been no trace of the aircraft. The search is continuing.”

BBC presenter and former England striker Gary Lineker tweeted: “Terribly worrying news that @CardiffCityFC’s new signing, Emiliano Sala was on board the small plane that has gone missing. Hopefully, somehow, they’ll be found and safe.”

Nantes president Waldemar Kita told French news channel CNews how well-liked Sala was at the club he was visiting to say his goodbyes.

Kita said: “He’s a polite, nice, adorable boy, adored by everyone. He was always very respectable, very courteous.

“I think of his family and all of his friends. The rest we do not know yet.”

The Polish businessman added: “I am always in hope that this is not over and that he is somewhere. Sincerely, he is an adorable boy.”

A Guernsey Police spokesman said: “Conditions during the search last night were challenging, with wave heights of up to two metres, with heavy rain showers and poor visibility.

“Today the sea is much calmer, although visibility was good, it is now deteriorating. UK authorities have been calling airfields on the south coast to see if it landed there. So far we have no confirmation it did.”

The search continues and a decision about an overnight search will be made at sunset, he added.

Rescue workers have said they are not expecting any survivors from the plane crash involving Cardiff City footballer Emiliano Sala.

John Fitzgerald, chief officer of the Channel Islands Air Search, told the Associated Press he was not optimistic and added: “I don’t think the coastguard are either. We just don’t know how it disappeared.”

He said the plane “just completely vanished. There was no radio conversation”.

The manufacturer of the aircraft that went missing over the English Channel said it had not received any official notification of the incident.

A spokeswoman for Piper told the Press Association: “At this time Piper Aircraft has not received any official notices or confirmation concerning the accident.”

“Once notified, Piper Aircraft will assist the local and US government agencies as required,” she added.