EDDIE HOWE admits Newcastle United were forced to confront the new reality of their changed status when Chelsea blocked their attempts to sign Conor Gallagher on transfer-deadline day.

The Magpies tried to land Gallagher as a replacement for fellow central midfielder Jonjo Shelvey, and were willing to consider either a loan deal or a permanent transfer for the England international.

Gallagher is understood to have been open to the idea of moving to St James’ Park, with Chelsea’s acquisition of Argentinian World Cup winner Enzo Fernandez having significantly reduced his prospects of securing regular game time at Stamford Bridge.

However, with Newcastle sitting in third position in the table, Chelsea refused to allow Gallagher to join a club they now consider to be ‘Champions League rivals’, a situation Howe accepts could become increasingly commonplace in the next few years.

When asked whether the Magpies are now being seen as a threat by clubs in the established ‘big six’, Howe said: “That’s your words not mine, but yeah, I think you’re on the right lines. I think it is potentially difficult for us.

“It depends on the player, and it depends on the club, but I think we’re probably aware we are seen differently this season to how we were last season. We are viewed differently probably by some clubs now, and that is something we will have to adjust to.”

Howe went into the January window hoping to increase his tally of five central midfielders (Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson, Shelvey) to six, but instead found himself left with just four when the transfer window closed. For the next three games, that tally is effectively three with Guimaraes suspended.

The head coach insists Newcastle’s recruitment team did all they could to try to sign a midfielder on deadline-day, but is also adamant the club were never going to panic and push through a deal just to keep the numbers up.

“We have Elliot Anderson, who we really like, and we’d love to see how he develops his Premier League career,” said Howe, ahead of tomorrow’s home game with West Ham United. “We also have other players we feel can play in midfield as well.

“Yes, we’re obviously light when you miss Bruno’s presence and his quality, but we have to adjust as a team, and we will do.”