Pavard headlines trio of deadline-day arrivals at Marseille
Marseille clinched moves for Benjamin Pavard, Nayef Aguerd and Matt O'Riley on deadline day, after their slow start to the Ligue 1 season.
France international Benjamin Pavard has returned to his home country to join Marseille, with Roberto De Zerbi's side also landing Matt O'Riley and Nayef Aguerd in a triple swoop.
De Zerbi's second campaign at the helm has started poorly, with Marseille losing two of their first three games of a Ligue 1 season for the first time since 2015-16.
But last season's runners-up moved to strengthen ahead of Monday's transfer deadline, getting three deals over the line.
Pavard is the most high-profile, having arrived on loan from Inter with an option for Marseille to make the deal permanent next year, reportedly for a fee of €15m.
Pavard rose through the ranks at Lille before leaving for Stuttgart in 2016, spending three years at MHP Arena before joining Bayern Munich.
He helped Bayern win four successive Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in 2019-20 before switching to Inter, winning Serie A in 2023-24 and finishing as a runner-up in UEFA's premier club competition last season.
Pavard is not the only new defender at the Stade Velodrome, with Marseille completing a €23m (£20m) move for West Ham centre-back Nayef Aguerd.
Aguerd has penned a five-year deal with Marseille, having failed to establish himself as a starter during two full seasons in the Premier League.
West Ham moved to replace Aguerd with a loan deal for Brighton centre-back Igor Julio, who has fallen out of favour at the Amex Stadium since joining from Fiorentina in 2023.
Marseille also enticed another player from the English top flight in O'Riley, who has arrived on a season-long loan from Brighton.
The Denmark international scored from the penalty spot in Brighton's opening game of the Premier League season, a 1-1 draw at home to Fulham, and the Seagulls still foresee him having a future at the club.
Brighton coach Fabian Hurzeler said: "Matt has the opportunity to challenge himself at the highest level in France and in the Champions League.
"We have a lot of competition in the midfield positions, and while we see Matt's long-term future here with us, this gives him the potential of more gametime."
