Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle is pessimistic about his club's chances of holding on to Juan Cuadrado this summer.
After talks with the Colombian on Friday, Della Valle said his club would be unable to refuse a substantial offer for the winger, who is attracting interest from Manchester United and Barcelona. For the right fee, the player will be allowed to leave the club.
"I've spoken with Cuadrado and explained to him our project," Della Valle told reporters at a news conference in Florence on Friday. "I said 'try staying a year with a side like ours, with a winning project.' Of course I'm not optimistic because if a big offer were to arrive, I would have to let him go.
"I continue to hope that he will stay, even though the chances are not very high. Let's see over the course of the next week. The lad understood and he responded well. Actually, he responded very well. But of course the World Cup hasn't helped our hopes [of keeping him].
"Juan is a very frank and honest lad so let's just see. We've set a deadline of 7-10 days to decide, or two weeks at most, but if certain amounts of money are offered, then it's going to be practically impossible to keep him. People in the city need to know that."
The offer at which Fiorentina would deal is reported to be in the region of 40 million euros. Were such money to be put on the table, Della Valle knows his side would be stupid to refuse, and wrong to block a move. And they have already given thought to a potential replacement.
"I'm worried about the kind of wages other clubs can offer," continued the Viola president. "But we'll see. At least we will be prepared. From what I have seen, the way we are playing, and with the two new signings we will make in the next fortnight, I can no longer see three sides being stronger than us this season."