The battling midfielder is out of contract at St James' Park in the summer, although boss Joe Kinnear is keen to keep him.
However Butt (pictured) is free to speak to other clubs from January 1 and, fearing they may lose him for nothing in the summer, Newcastle may decide to cash in on the 33-year-old if Wigan come in with a tantalising offer.
Bruce, who took Butt to Birmingham on a loan spell during his time as manager at St Andrews, may face competition from rivals Bolton.
Bruce expects to be busy when the transfer window reopens but insists his priority is to try and retain Emile Heskey and winger Antonio Valencia until at least the end of the season.
Speculation was rife over the weekend that Chelsea were ready to launch a bid for the England striker, but Latics will only listen to what chairman Dave Whelan terms "realistic offers" for Heskey.
Ironically, Wigan's next game is against Newcastle at the JJB on Boxing Day before they travel to Bolton two days later. Saturday's 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers at the JJB Stadium lifted Wigan up to ninth in the Premier League.
"We turned in a terrific performance at the weekend," said Bruce, who has also been linked with January moves for Colombian striker Hugo Martinez, and Egyptian international Emab Motiab. "We were superb down the right-hand side and Valencia was unplayable at times.
"Lee Cattermole also did well, he's proved to be a terrific signing. He's only 20 but is a natural leader of men. I was delighted to see him scoring, we possibly need him to score more goals but he is getting in more advanced positions and that's ideal.
"We were excellent, we created a lot of chances and we have given ourselves a good base to build on ahead of the forthcoming games with Newcastle and Bolton."
Meanwhile, Bruce has hit out at the constant speculation surrounding Amr Zaki's future, suggesting it could be unsettling his on-loan star striker.
A host of Premier League clubs have been linked with Zaki, along with Spanish giants Real Madrid.
"I just wish they would leave the boy alone, let him play and then see what develops," said Bruce.
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