Bent has been mentioned as a possible Manchester United target to replace Wayne Rooney should the wantaway forward secure his switch away from Old Trafford.
Bruce admits he would not be surprised if other clubs were trailing Bent following his success at the Stadium of Light, and while he is loathe to lose the 26-year-old, accepts a 'silly money' offer could force his hand.
"When you see the records and goal scoring charts Benty is always up there. Rooney, Drogba, Bent. I hope nothing will happen," admitted Bruce.
"That is a problem all managers face from time to time. It is the nature of football that there are merry-go-rounds but I don't want to pre-empt it. It is always the hard part. I faced it at Wigan a few times when I had Valencia and Palacios and knew they were going. It is always a worry.
"At Sunderland we can turn everything down but silly money. Ultimately as we have witnessed at Man U player power is unbelievable.
"For us to part with Benty... bloody hell, it is something we won't even entertain. At Wigan you are going to be up against it... if Manchester United come in then you will be struggling.
"You can tell players under contract that they have to stay, you can go down that route, but how many times have we seen it. We are talking hypothetically here but players have downed tools. It is not a healthy one but that is football. It is the unfortunate side of football and if it comes you deal with it.
"If you look at the strides this club has made since Niall [Quinn] and the owner have come in. there has been lots of investment and lots of ambition."
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