The £6.5million striker has been linked with Aston Villa, Fulham, Everton and Sunderland.
McCarthy said: “If we go down, we have no chance of holding on to him. If we stay up, we might still have a problem because there will be a few interested.
“We have seen all the teams now and I’ve not noticed many better players than him.
“I’m not doing a selling job saying that because I’m not telling other managers anything they don’t know.
“He would not be out of place in the company of Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea.”
