Lee Bowyer has admitted Lyle Taylor will likely leave Charlton Athletic this summer.
With his contract set to expire at the end of June, the striker was wanted by Bristol City in January, with Nottingham Forest and Brentford also keen to sign him on the cheap.
Yet he stayed with the Addicks, with Bristol City instead securing Nahki Wells from Burnley.
There are still question marks over City's strike force next season, however, with Famara Diedhiou's contract up in 2021 and Benik Afobe's loan from Stoke City set to expire.
With Robins CEO Mark Ashton predicting a season of austerity in 2020/21 due to the coronavirus, a free agent of Taylor's calibre may be too good to turn down.
Speaking in the context of the coronavirus shutdown, Bowyer said he found it difficult to see a way in which Taylor would be willing to play past the expiration of his contract.
"I've got players out of contract on June 30 and they won't play after that, I know that," he told Sky Sports.
"We have nine players and six loan players, 15 in total who could just say 'I'm done'.
"There are so many different hurdles. It's hard, and not just for us but other clubs. We've got Lyle Taylor and his contract finishes on June 30.
"He'll probably go somewhere else and will earn more money than he's got in his career. It could make him for the rest of his life.
"Is he going to put that in jeopardy with the injury risk before a dream move? I don't think so.
"He's our main striker and his goals win us games. As a free agent he'll be getting good offers, and whatever he gets he deserves.
"He's done really well for us but that's the reality of the situation."
