Salomon Rondon has revealed he chose the number nine jersey at Newcastle on purpose.

The Venezuelan has been in excellent form for the Magpies, who he joined from West Bromwich Albion on loan in the summer.

Rondon has always wore the number 23 jersey during his career, but he revealed that he enjoys the pressure of wearing the jersey previously worn by club legend and the Premier League's all-time top goalscorer Alan Shearer.

"It was a peculiar story," Rondon said.

"The '23' was free, my number of always, and the '9'. One of the people who closed the transfer told me: 'The '9' is a very important number at Newcastle because it was led by Shearer, who is the club's top scorer and the history of the Premier League. If you dare to wear it, it will be fine. ' And so it has been.

"It is a pressure that pleases me. I work well on pressure because it is where one more demands and is forced to give the maximum.

"We exchanged some tweets, but personally I still do not know (Shearer). I would love it (to meet him), not only for what it has been at Newcastle, but for what it has represented for football."