Chelsea are leading the race ahead of Atletico Madrid to sign Martin Zubimendi in the January transfer window, according to reports in Spain.

Zubimendi joined Arsenal in a £60 million deal from Real Sociedad last year and played an integral role in his first season at the club as Mikel Arteta’s side won the Premier League and reached the Champions League final.

So far this season, Zubimendi is yet to start in 10 Premier League games and is facing increased competition for a place in midfield following Arsenal’s decision to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United in the summer.

However, Spanish reporter Antonio Ruiz told El Partidazo de COPE on Tuesday night that Atletico have ruled themselves out of the race to sign Zubimendi in January.

‘Reliable sources of Atletico Madrid have denied it and negotiations have been ruled out, nor is there any intention of signing Zubimendi in January,’ Ruiz said.

‘Neither a negotiation or an intention, that was literally the answer from the club.

‘There was a consideration a long time ago about the possibility of Julian Alvarez being involved in a swap deal with Zubimendi. The club [Atletico] say they haven’t considered it.

‘I also contacted someone in Zubimendi’s entourage and he is very calm. I asked what happens if he left Arsenal, the best-placed team would be Chelsea with Xabi Alonso, not Atletico Madrid.

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‘In the event that he does decide to leave, the option that fits most is Chelsea.’

In an interview with Marca this week, Zubimendi insisted he is ‘calm’ about his lack of playing time at Arsenal and revealed he was warned by Mikel Arteta about the competition in midfield this season.

‘I spoke with Mikel at the beginning of the season. As he does with all the players, he explained the plan to me,’ Zubimendi said.

‘He warned me that there were new signings and that there would be playing time for everyone. And here we are, fighting for it.

‘I understand because, for me, we’re among the five best teams in Europe. There are some fantastic players. New signings have arrived in my position, and there were already some very good players. I’m also part of that competition that makes it so difficult to get playing time.

‘I’m calm and happy with how I’m handling this situation. It’s something I’ve never experienced before, and I think you learn from these situations too.

‘Besides, it’s in moments like these that you need the people around you the most, and they’re there for you.

‘I’m patient. When you’ve been playing a lot of minutes and your role changes to not playing as much, I’m able to see the positive side. I think everything passes, that just like last year the opposite happened to me and I played practically everything, this can change very quickly.’