After the fireworks of last summer, the transfer window of pre-season 2010 has brought almost an equal amount of speculation and rumour, though for Ligue 1 clubs it has largely been a campaign of austerity and frugalness.

Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique de Marseille both smashed their transfer records 12 months ago, signing Lisandro Lopez and Lucho Gonzalez for €24 million and €18m respectively, while a glut of high profile, high cost signings were equally made by the two giants. Additionally, Girondins de Bordeaux spent more than €10m to recruit Yoann Gourcuff on a permanent basis, while Stade Rennais were big spenders on Ismael Bangoura and Lille pinched Gervinho from Le Mans for a hefty fee. Such spectacular deals have been fewer in a period that will ultimately be reflected on as a failure by many of France’s best sides.

Of l’Hexagone’s giants, none could seriously consider themselves to have waged a fully successful transfer battle over the summer, with the champions Marseille potentially the big losers.

OM, who are a side not noted for being awash with funds, saw their squad virtually implode as late as August. Mamadou Niang announced his decision to leave for Fenerbahce, while Hatem Ben Arfa stormed out the Stade Velodrome to Newcastle United like a huffy teenager, having elected to go on strike earlier in the month.

Ambitious transfer targets such as Luis Fabiano slipped through the net but nevertheless managed to upset the likes of Stephane Mbia, who wondered why such mega-wages could be spared for such figures yet not the side who won the league last season. In the meantime, the club have been forced to state that the Cameroonian’s knee injury is not simply a work of fiction designed to cover yet another rift in the squad.

Even star man Lucho isn’t totally happy. Les Phoceens have failed to sign a defensive midfielder, with Alou Diarra of Bordeaux heavily courted, and the Argentine has been quick to explain that he wouldn’t be comfortable playing in such a role on a regular basis. Earlier in the market he had grumbled that OM had failed to do enough to secure the signature of a truly renowned name; someone who could lift the club to the next level.

When signings were finally made, hurried in the final days of the window, they came expensively and above market value. Andre-Pierre Gignac, who struggled to find his best goal scoring form last season, arrived from Toulouse for a fee reported to be around €16 million. Though a Marseille supporter, the wisdom of such a move would have to be questioned simply due to the player’s recent injury record, which has seen him miss vast periods of the last year due to problems. When he has been fit, the threat of a physical breakdown has prevented him from reaching his best.

Then there was the dramatic signing of Loic Remy, which was a move that nearly didn’t happen due to the Provence club finding the former Lyon youth to have a heart defect. After further tests, this was discovered not to be serious, yet it was a far from ideal way to complete a transfer from Nice valued at €15m.

Again this was a price arguably higher than the market value of the player, who had seen his tag driven upwards by intense interest from a number of English clubs during the summer. Liverpool and West Ham United were particularly keen on the Rhone-born France international, yet it was ultimately OM who scooped the prize.

Despite fears over the 23-year-old’s health, he should prove to be a key player for les Phoceens. Quick, direct, skilful and with an eye for goal, it’s clear that Lyon regret allowing the forward player to leave for les Aiglons in 2008, and the attacker will provide fine support from out wide for whoever acts as the centrepiece to OM’s attack.

Remy’s signing should prove to be an astute piece of business, but the summer of 2010 has largely been a mess for Marseille. With Lyon, Bordeaux and to a lesser extent PSG, who failed to strengthen their defence, also floundering in the transfer market, this was a chance to really steal a march on their main competitors but instead Didier Deschamps’ side have barely moved, and in real terms may even have regressed due to the damage done to the team’s spirit.

Rather than fret over what was a wasted summer, however, OM have to quickly rebuild their collective morale if they are to compete to regain their French crown.