After finishing a distant fifth in the 2020-21 Ligue 1 campaign, things were finally looking up again for Marseille having secured a solid runners-up position last season.
However, former Chile boss Jorge Sampaoli chose to depart the club earlier this month, having allegedly been disappointed by a lack of transfer activity ahead of their return to Champions League football.
Former Juventus defender Igor Tudor, who guided Hellas Verona to a respectable ninth-placed finish in Serie A last season, has succeeded the 2015 Copa America winner at the helm of Les Olympiens.
On the surface, investment looks healthy at the club given that they have already spent around £40m this summer. However, only 19-year-old defender Isaakq Toure truly represents fresh blood, with Matteo Guendouzi, Cengiz Under, Pau Lopez and Arkadiusz Milik all turning their successful loan spells from last season into permanent deals.
Boubacar Kamara and Steve Mandandahave both departed the club on free transfers, meaning further incomings will surely be required if Marseille are to close the gap on Paris Saint-Germain and compete for the Ligue 1 title.
In reality, though, simply consolidating a Champions League qualification position would be far from a disaster in Tudor’s first season in charge.
Two upcoming friendlies against likely Championship promotion contenders in the form of Norwich and Middlesbrough should provide an early indication of the southern France side’s current shape, before they go on to face even sterner tests against Real Betis and AC Milan ahead of their Ligue 1 campaign kicking off against Reims on August 7.
One can only imagine what Sampaoli would have made of Norwich’s transfer window had he been in Dean Smith’s shoes at Carrow Road.
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The Canaries’ only addition so far this summer has been attracting Newcastle United midfielder Isaac Hayden on a season-long loan, with the 27-year-old potentially offering battling qualities which were largely absent on the pitch last season, culminating in yet another meek relegation from the Premier League.
However, Norwich have been in this exact position many times in recent years. Indeed, of their three previous relegations since the 2013-14 campaign,
the East Anglian side have twice bounced back to England’s top flight at the first attempt, and they were promoted in their third Championship season on the other occasion.
