The Magpies are struggling in the Premier League and currently sit in 18th place.
Shearer told Sky Sports: “He is a very different player to what Michael brings.
“But what the opposition fear with Oba is they are not sure what he is going to do because at times, he probably doesn’t know himself.
“You can take that as a negative or a positive, but he is a threat.
“He is good in the air, he can score great goals and we are going to need that every bit as much from him as we are Michael, as we are Shola (Ameobi), as we are Andy Carroll.
“We are going to need all those players firing on all cylinders.”
