Ligue 1 Transfer Roundup

Olympique de Marseille make some transfer moves.

So the January transfer window has ended for Ligue 1, and there weren't any blockbuster moves. But that's not to say that there isn't a significant difference in lineups (alright, mostly reserves) for several clubs. Will any of these moves make a difference?


In their order in the table, the following moves were made:

1. Olympique Lyonnais - Players in=0; Players out=1 (Anderson); Nothing to see here.

2. FC Girondins de Bordeaux - Players in=0; Players out=2 (Obertan; Marange); Obertan had seen some action for Bordeaux, but as they push to close on Lyon they needed to stay with their more established players so they sent him out on loan to FC Lorient.

3. Paris Saint-Germain - Players in=0; Players out=2 (N'Goyi; Sankhare); Neither had a chance to get any time on the pitch for PSG, and both have been loaned to Ligue 2 clubs for further seasoning, with both loans likely to be made permanent.

4. Olympique de Marseille - Players in=2 (Brandao; Wiltord); Players out=8 (Givet; Grandin; Erbate; Cesar; N'Diaye; Begeorgi; M'Bow; Krstic); Wiltord got the immediate start in his first match with L'OM and played well enough; Givet was sent to Blackburn on loan, where he is likely to partner with Ooijer, Samba and Warnock in the back (he was used as a substitute in the club's last FA Cup match); Apparently, Nenad Krstic divides his time between the Oklahoma City Thunder and L'OM, but now he will have to commute to AC Ajaccio.

5. Stade Rennais - Players in=0; Players out=2 (Wiltord; Sorlin); Wiltord had only played in 6 matches, so Rennes is fine to keep pushing for the top of the table without him.

6. Toulouse FC - Players in=0; Players out=1 (Fort); Meh.

7. LOSC Lille Metropole - Players in=0; Players out=1 (Franquart); Meh.

8. OGC Nice - Players in=2 (Adeilson; Sable); Players out=1 (Gace); Adeilson joins Arsenal's Denilson as Brazilians who do not play like Brazilians; Sable is a good transfer as the veteran midfielder spent several seasons with AS Saint-Etienne and has seen significant football.

9. FC Lorient - Players in=2 (Obertan; Caive); Players out=3 (Buron; Marin; Jacobsen); Obertan should get much more run than he did at Bordeaux (although he had played in 11 matches there) and will look to build on the 2 goals that he scored in the League Cup.

10. AS Nancy-Lorraine - Players in=1 (Gunnarsson); Players out=3 (Calve; Fortune; Camerling); Fortune had made 15 appearances (with only 1 goal) before being loaned out to West Bromwich Albion where he will have to complete with Arsenal loanee Jay Simpson for playing time.

11. AS Monaco FC - Players in=2 (Lolo; Vallaurio); Players out=5 (Bernadi; Kaita; Ligati; Cufre; Joneleit); If things continue as they are, Monaco may rue the fact that Ligati was recalled by AC Milan.

12. FC Nantes - Players in=0; Players out=1 (Gravgaard); Meh.

13. Le Mans - Players in=4 (Makaridze; Goulon; Nkwelle; Dominique); Players out=2 (Keita; El-Bahri); Le Mans bring in Goulon from Middlesbrough, although the transfer has not yet been approved by Ligue 1.

14. Grenoble Foot 38 - Players in=4 (Grandin; Boya; Cesar; Kucukovic); Players out=3 (Kamissoko; Dja Djedje; Alphant); Grenoble bring in Grandin from L'OM to partner with Akrour up top, as he had 2 goals in 8 matches for the southern club; Dja Djedje had been playing well, but he gets shipped out to Ligue 2 club RC Strasbourg.

15. SM Caen - Players in=1 (Quellier); Players out=2 (Svensson; Thiam); Nothing of import to note.

16. AJ Auxerre - Players in=1 (Birsa); Players out=3 (Traore; Huyghebaert; Akakpo); Yet another Traore.

17. AS Saint-Etienne - Players in=0; Players out=1 (Nilsson); Apparently the all-time leader in Ligue 1 titles feels that they can avoid relegation even by doing nothing.

18. FC Sochaux-Montbeliard - Players in=2 (Sverkos; Mikari); Players out=3 (Perisic; Birsa; Mezague); 2 in, 3 out, with only 1 point to make up to emerge from the drop-zone.

19. Valenciennes FC - Players in=1 (Darcheville); Players out=2 (Khiter; Bezzaz); Darcheville (transferred from Rangers) has already paid dividends, as he provided an assist on the match-winner this past weekend.

20. Le Havre AC - Players in=4 (Hantz; Diallo; Franquart; Marange); Players out=3 (Faure; Soumare; Kharbouchi); None of these 4 players will make a bit of difference as Le Havre are 9 points from safety and virtually guaranteed relegation.


Whew. That was exhausting.