The Sunderland Echo reports tonight that the 'Unwashed' are considering a bid for the former Toon central defender.
Black Cats boss Steve Bruce is a long-standing admirer of the man who never seemed to get anything right at St James' Park.
Now, with Sunderland looking to miss out on free agent Sol Campbell (who looks a good bet to join the Toon) the Wigan 28-year-old is seen as the next bestr option.
Bruce inherited the former Newcastle centre-half when he took over the reins at Wigan in 2007 and was well aware of the defender's calamitous reputation from his time on Tyneside.
Bruce is set to receive £1.5m from Cardiff City as the last instalment of the Michael Chopra sale, as well as £1.5m from Celtic for the sale of Daryl Murphy.
And don't you just LOVE the quote from the Echo: "Sunderland fans are likely to be understandably sceptical."