Everyone wants Joey Chestnut back in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- from fans to his opponents and even Jaws himself ... 'cause last year's champion tells TMZ Sports the glizzy king "definitely" wants to make a comeback!!
We chopped it up with Patrick Bertoletti fresh off our report about the ongoing talks between Major League Eating and Chestnut ... and he told us his good friend is hungry to be back onstage in Coney Island this Fourth of July.
"If they're talking, that's a good thing," Bertoletti said.