Jonny Evans told Harry Maguire he believed the Manchester United captaincy was within his grasp when he first signed from Leicester City.
Evans and Maguire were teammates and friends at Leicester, but will be on opposite sides when the two teams meet on Sunday for a vital Premier League top four decider.
And the former United man has given his verdict on Maguire's debut season at Old Trafford following an £80million transfer, as well as detailing that conversation that took place between the pair when the move happened.
“When Harry signed for the club he had a decision where to go. I told him to go to United because it was the perfectly made club for him,” Evans told MUTV.
“I said that within a year at the club that he’d be captain and when he got given the captaincy I text him and said: ‘That was quicker than what I expected!’. I think he’s got the perfect personality for it.
“If you look at Harry, he never gets injured, he’s played all season and I think he’s been a really good signing for United.”
United need a point at the King Power Stadium to secure Champions League football next season, with Evans' Leicester needing to win the game after a poor spell of form that has allowed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men to overtake them in the table.
And the Northern Irishman is confident his teammates can get the necessary result.
“A lot of things do go down to the last game and now it’s come down to ourselves and United,” said Evans. “We had a couple of days off after the last game against Spurs. It’s probably the first time we’ve had that chance with the games coming so thick and fast.
“Obviously, United haven’t had the chance to do that with the FA Cup fixture at the weekend. It’s been nice for us to have those two days away, especially after we lost at the weekend.
“There’s no pressure on us! I think there’s going to be more pressure on Man United and Chelsea with the history of the clubs in terms of qualifying and the expectations.”
