Celta Vigo coach Eduardo Berizzo accepts there is nothing his club can do if another club wants to pay Nolito's release clause this summer amid reported interest from Barcelona.
Nolito, 28, extended his contract with Celta last summer until June 2019 and has an €18 million buyout clause.
The Spanish press reported this week that Barcelona are considering bringing their former player back to the Camp Nou if Spain forward Pedro, a target of Manchester United, decides to leave the Blaugrana.
When asked about Nolito's potential departure, Berizzo said as reported in El Mundo Deportivo: "If someone pays his release clause, we will find a replacement just as we would do with any other player.
"It would be an important loss for us and it would mean we would have to search for an important replacement."
The coach added: "At times, change means new enthusiasm. Whoever leaves [the club], we will find a replacement in the market."
Spain international Nolito has scored 27 goals and set up 25 more in the past two campaigns to help the Galician outfit finish in the top half of the table.
He scored 29 goals in 106 appearances during a three-year spell with Barca's B side, and made his La Liga debut in October 2010 at Barca after coming on as a substitute for Pedro.
Nolito left the team eight months later to join Benfica on a permanent transfer, but has worked under current Camp Nou coach Luis Enrique before with Barca's B side and at Celta Vigo during the 2013-14 campaign.
Should Nolito return to his former team this summer, he would not be able to play an official game until January 2016 because of a transfer ban imposed by FIFA on Barca.
The punishment was handed down after the club breached rules regarding the signings of underage players, meaning summer signings Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan will have to wait for their debuts until the turn of the year.