New West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui has spoken to Pablo Fornals to get some insight into what he can expect at London Stadium.
Fornals spent four-and-a-half years at West Ham, making 203 appearances for the club before joining Real Betis for £6.8m in February.
He still keeps in touch with many of his former team-mates, and Lopetegui used his knowledge once he discovered he would be replacing David Moyes in the summer.
“I was called by the new manager a few months ago – he just wanted to know about how West Ham works,” Fornals told BBC Sport. “He is Spanish, I am Spanish and I had spoken with him a few times before, so he just wanted to know about the players.
“I am still connected with them so, to be honest, it is not a bad thing.
“I love them. I speak to them as many times as I can – the physios and the players – but they are not [just] players – they are my friends.”
The burning question: what did he tell Lopetegui?
“That it is a nice club – a family club,” he said. “There are a lot of very good people there. He asked me about the players, [but] that is his job. I try to help everyone.”
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