SUNDERLAND are preparing for a post-Christmas battle with Everton to retain the services of talented Northern Ireland full-back George McCartney.

McCartney's form for the Black Cats over the past 16 months has caught the eye of many club managers but ideally the player would love to help Mick McCarthy's side back to the Premiership.

Champions League hopefuls Everton are looking to strengthen their squad when the January transfer window opens and defence is high on manager David Moyes' priorities.

It is understood that Moyes is weighing up a £1.2m move for McCartney in an attempt to keep the Toffees in the upper echelons of the top-flight.

Sunday's draw at Newcastle has preserved Everton's place in third place and there is a genuine sense around Goodison Park that their tremendous team spirit can at least clinch a UEFA Cup place.

Moyes knows new faces in the New Year are needed if that is to become more than just a possibility and he is believed to have earmarked McCartney as one of his main targets.

But Sunderland have their own aspirations and are keen to keep hold of their talents. McCarthy rates the defender highly and hands the captain's armband to him when Gary Breen is unavailable.

The Wearside outfit's victory at Stoke at the weekend closed the gap between themselves and the top two to just a point.

There is a growing feeling at the club that automatic promotion can been achieved this season, after two years out of the top-flight.

But to do that McCarthy - who would allow winger John Oster, currently on loan at Leeds, to move on permanently - knows he has to keep the majority of his squad together.

There is no need for Sunderland to sell either, having managed to stabilise debts after halving their wage bill and reporting a loss before tax of just £1.2m last week compared with £20.6m last year.

And they showed their ambitions in the summer when they rejected three offers for players, including a £2.5m bid for striker Kevin Kyle from Crystal Palace.

McCartney, who has 17 caps for his country, only signed a contract in May that keeps him at the Stadium of Light until 2007, so any club hoping to capture the left-back would have to offer a worthwhile amount.

Sunderland have already shown they intend to keep hold of their prize assets by securing the services of South American Julio Arca for another two years.

It had been feared the Argentinian, who has formed a profitable partnership with McCartney down the left flank, would leave for nothing in the summer when his contract was due to expire or when the transfer window opened.

McCarthy will have to do without Arca this weekend after he picked up his fifth booking in the win over Ipswich nine days ago.

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