Rovers chairman John Williams confirmed the club had received an offer from the Black Cats for McCarthy but said it had been rejected out of hand.

The bid arrived before the 5pm deadline which means had Blackburn been prepared to do business quickly, McCarthy could well have been lining up against Liverpool in Sunderland colours this afternoon.

It is the third bid the Lancashire outfit have received for the former Porto hitman and Champions League winner.

The first offer was made by Sunderland earlier in the summer, then a bid by Turkish outfit Galatasaray and now Sunderland's improved bid.

All three have been knocked back and the North West club has insisted it is not interested in selling a player whose pedigree is unquestionable.

When Rovers snubbed Galatasary's bid, it ended the Turkish club's interest. But Sunderland have been more persistent.

And although yesterday's offer was nowhere near the Wearsiders' £9m record fee paid for Craig Gordon last summer, it was still a very attractive and fair offer.

Williams and manager Paul Ince are desperate to keep the squad together going into the new season.

And with the manager yet to really spend in the transfer market and money rolling in from the David Bentley and Brad Friedel deals, he is under no pressure to sell.

To complicate matters, Rovers were stung by recent newspaper claims that Ewood Park has become an unhappy ship since Paul Ince took over from Mark Hughes in the summer.

The claims have been angrily denied by Rovers, but they must fear that any further departures might be seen as lending credence to the stories already printed.

Ince is not overly blessed in the striking department. He has only Roque Santa Cruz, Matt Derbyshire, Jason Roberts and McCarthy at his disposal - not great for a club expected to challenge for Europe this season.

So you can see why Ince and Williams are so loath to let the South African go.

But McCarthy was less than happy at playing second fiddle to Santa Cruz last season, and if the striker is desperate to leave the club, Ince's hand might be forced.

The Premiership's newest manager has the cash at his disposal to make a major splash in the transfer market, and he may yet be tempted to cash in on McCarthy to further fund the purchase of a headline signing.

Roy Keane signalled on the recent pre-season tour of Ireland that Sunderland will not be held to ransom for players.

And if a deal does come off for McCarthy, Sunderland fans can be sure their club will not pay over the odds for the 30-year-old.

Now that their continuing interest in McCarthy is in the public domain, it will be harder for Rovers to hang on to a man who is a proven Premiership goalscorer, and just the sort of player who might excite supporters on Wearside.