The 28 year old has been in good form for the Latics over the past two seasons and despite a troublesome back injury, continues to press for an England place.
However, former Latics boss Steve Bruce has distanced himself from any offer for the England international. He said: "Talk of me bidding £5million for Chris Kirkland is garbage but he's a very good goalkeeper and I'm a big, big admirer of him.
"Some of the players I've been linked with have been ridiculous but you come to expect that in January and there's nothing we can do about that. What I will say is that we're working on one or two things and hopefully we can see them progress."
The rumour has no doubt surfaced as a direct consequence of the Latics signig Vladimir Stojkovic on loan until the end of the season.