Milan Skriniar's expected departure from Inter is down to "a problem of management" at the club, former midfielder Wesley Sneijder has told Stats Perform.
Slovakia international Skriniar, who is a confirmed target for Paris Saint-Germain, is into the final five months of his contract after rejecting fresh terms in December.
The January transfer window is therefore Inter's final chance to receive a fee for the centre-back, who is into his sixth season as an Inter player.
Inter have seen a number of players depart on free transfers in recent years, and ex-Nerazzurri midfielder Sneijder has questioned why that is still happening.
"This is a problem of management," he said. "When management is not good it's hard to control all the details. On the pitch it is easier, while off it, it is harder but just as important.
"You cannot let the players say they want to leave, let alone at this very moment. You have to take precautions in time to prevent all this."
Inter are reported to have already lined up possible replacements for Skriniar, with Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic among those to have been linked with a switch to San Siro.
While Sneijder believes Inter have the resources to cope without Skriniar, the former Netherlands international called on the Italian giants to take more responsibility.
"Inter have a great squad and won't suffer from this problem, but there will be others," he said.
"They need someone to take responsibility and say 'enough is enough, now we only talk about playing football and that's it'.
"I don't know who is responsible for [the Skriniar situation], but someone has to tell the players they are there to play."
Skriniar has played 242 times for Inter in all competitions since joining from Sampdoria in July 2017, helping the club to Serie A, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana success.
Providing an update on PSG's interest in the 27-year-old this week, head coach Christophe Galtier said: "I cannot say if he will arrive in [January] or in the summer.
"He is a player we've been tracking for a long time. In fact, we thought that we had already got him last summer."
Skriniar may have already played his final game for Inter after his sending off against Empoli on Monday, with that 1-0 loss leaving Inter 13 points behind runaway leaders Napoli.