Federico Fernandez has told former team-mate Salomon Rondon to come 'back to Newcastle'.
Rondon was taking part in an Instagram Live Q&A with Venezuelan journalist Tony Cherchi on Friday and Fernandez was among those tuning in.
Fernandez, Rondon and the club's sizeable group of Spanish speakers were particularly close last season and bonded over barbecues away from the training ground.
Although Rondon has since moved on, to Dalian Professional, the pair regularly exchange messages and the Venezuela international often affectionately calls the defender 'nose' in his social media posts.
As Rondon discussed a host of topics, including his future, in a 50-minute Instagram Live, Fernandez commented 'back to Newcastle'.
The interview may have been in Spanish but a number of Newcastle fans also followed along, leaving real-time comments such as 'miss you' .
In his one season on loan from West Brom, Rondon made quite an impact at St James' Park and became the first forward since Alan Shearer to win the club's player of the year award.
Rondon had hoped to extend his stay on Tyneside but knew his chances of doing so 'were going down straight away' once Rafa Benitez decided against signing a new contract.
The 30-year-old ended up following Benitez to China last summer, but he is certainly keeping an eye on takeover developments at his former club.
"If they gave me the opportunity to come back to Newcastle, I would not have any doubts in coming back," he told ChronicleLive on Thursday.
"In this time, this part of my career, you have to talk about the project, the future, how important it is to make a very good plan for the future.
"I read some news about the owner maybe selling the club so we have to wait because for me if the project mentioned is real, the people coming to invest in a good team for Newcastle will be a very good opportunity for the fans and for the history of the club."
