The 21-year-old will make his Wear-Tyne derby debut at the Stadium of Light on Sunday fresh from netting his first goal in front of the St James’ Park crowd during the 6-2 rout of Norwich City last weekend.
That was Mitrovic’s second goal in black-and-white, and he is aiming to end United’s derby ‘hoodoo’ by bringing a run of five-straight defeats to a conclusive end on Wearside.
He is determined to become a legend on Tyneside, and knows a goal in a Wear-Tyne derby would help put him along that path to Toon immortality.
Speaking about being a forward at Newcastle, Mitrovic told The Mirror: “Here it is like a religion to have a real No 9 strong striker, a box player, always in the box, give the ball, score goals.
“This is the most special place for strikers to play.
“All strikers who score here are big players and they come after legends.
“It is an honour to be a striker here. I hope I have a lot of goals here to celebrate.”
Mitrovic’s striking idol when he was growing up just so happened to be Newcastle goalscoring legend Alan Shearer.
And Mitrovic wants to “earn” the famous No 9 shirt Shearer used to wear – and even joked that he could one day break the club goalscoring record held by the former England captain.
He continued: “I have 204 goals to go! I have time! Shearer came here when he was 26 til 36. Why not!”
“I always look at those legends. Shearer is No 1 here. Everyone was behind him.
“He did a lot for this club and this is how I want to play. Maybe one day I can become a legend. It is just beginning.
“I hope to meet him. He is my idol. I only came here two months ago, and I don’t want to leave soon, so it will happen.
“I want to earn the No 9 (shirt). It is a big responsibility at this club.
“We know who was No 9 before, and you need to earn that.
“You earn it by scoring big goals in games like Sunday. For now, I am happy with 45.”