Can Marcelo Bielsa and Marseille kick on after exodus of stars?

For a team that finished fourth in Ligue 1 in 2014/15, an improvement of two places from the previous season, the last few months for French giants Marseille (16/1 title chances with Coral) have surprisingly been very troublesome.

Their boss Marcelo Bielsa, who was appointed at the beginning of the campaign, impressively led the south coast side to the top of the table for much of the term, despite a shaky start, after a run of eight victories.

However, as the season progressed, their form gradually tailed off, and at one point went 11 games with just two wins, to let PSG, Lyon and slow starters Monaco eventually beat them to the three Champions League places.

Marseille would’ve taken a Europa League place at the start of 2014/15, with their relatively thin squad. But constant squabbles between Bielsa and the club’s hierarchy, as well as their decline from the end of April, have led to what seems like the start of a mass exodus of star players.

Their top performers last term Andre-Pierre Gignac, who came second in the Ligue 1 scoring charts, and Ghana winger Andre Ayew have both left on free transfers to Mexican outfit Tigres and Swansea City respectively, leaving huge holes to fill in attack.

On top of that, the likes of other key players last season Jeremy Morel and Rod Fanni are also out-of-contract, with the former already being snapped up by Lyon.

There is likely to be even more disappointment for Marseille fans, as club captain and keeper Steve Mandanda, defensive rock Nicolas N’koulou, rising star midfielder Florian Thauvin and West Ham United target Dimitri Payet have all been linked with moves away. Young anchorman Giannelli Imbula is also a target for top teams.