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He refused to name the player he was watching when asked before the game, but local press speculation suggested it was impressive defender McAuley who caught the eye.
The Northern Ireland B international has already been linked with Blackburn and Birmingham this season. McAuley has turned in some outstanding displays in his 28 appearances for the Imps after completing a £10,000 move after his trial at Stockport came to nothing.
McCarthy is a canny operator in the transfer market and has readily raided League Two clubs to garnish his Premiership chasing side in recent months.
He has signed midfielder Liam Lawrence from Mansfield Town, defender Danny Collins from Chester City and midfielder Dean Whitehead from Oxford United.
Keith Alexander revealed he wasn't surprised that his players were attracting attention.
"Gareth has been outstanding for us since he arrived at the start of the season, but he's just come back from injury and he'll be the first to tell you he needs to fully recover and get some more games under his belt before we see him at his best."
"People weren't looking at our players three years ago so it shows just how far we have come. Many of our squad are currently playing well. The likes of Alan Marriott, Paul Morgan, Ciaran Toner and Gary Taylor-Fletcher all believe they can play at a higher level, so I would be shocked if there wasn't interest in them."
McAuley could net the Imps up to £300,000 if he were to fetch his market value, and theres little doubt that a large portion of that would be available for Keith to strengthen the squad, which just leaves one question:
Could City do without Gareth McAuley?