The 31-year-old centre-back has made more than 70 league appearances since arriving from Manchester City in 2007, helping the south coast club achieve FA Cup glory a year later.
However, the Frenchman has just 12 month's remaining on his current contract, leading to speculation linking him with a move away from Fratton Park.
Aston Villa, Liverpool and Sunderland have all been tipped to sign the stopper this summer.
And Black Cats' boss Bruce has now admitted that he would like to do a deal for Distin should the opportunity arise.
"I think it would be wrong of me to comment on other people's players," he said in the Sunday Sun.
"He's a player we like and admire but that's as far as it has gone.
"We haven't got much in the way of transfer deals in the pipeline at the moment but we are still working extremely hard to improve the squad."
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