Marseille brought in three players on transfer deadline day but those Ligue 1 clubs who were active in the final hours of the window were upstaged by Anthony Martial.
Teenage striker Martial is poised to complete a big-money move from Monaco to Manchester United for a fee that reportedly could be as high as €80million after travelling to England for a medical.
Nantes' Papy Djilobodji is likely to be joining him in the Premier League, the centre-back is set to finalise a switch to Chelsea.
Lorik Cana will take his place in Michel Der Zakarian's team after joining from Lazio.
For Marseille the priority was said to be a striker, but they did not succeed in bringing one in despite being linked with a host of names.
Centre-back Rolando came in from Porto, and full-backs Paolo De Ceglie and Mauricio Isla arrived on loan from Juventus, with Mario Lemina going the other way and Doria switching to Granada in a loan move.
Meanwhile, Lille signed forwards Yassine Benzia and Lenny Nangis from Lyon and Caen respectively and allowed striker Ronny Rodelin to go out on loan to the latter of those clubs.
Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain sent Youssouf Sabaly on loan to Nantes, but talk of goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu leaving the club proved false.
Striker Robert Beric signed for Saint-Etienne, Rennes acquired midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero and striker Jeremie Boga on loan, and Brazilian defender Pablo moved to Bordeaux on a four-year deal from Ponte Preta.
Lyon added midfielders Lucas Tousart and Olivier Kemen, Bastia signed Florian Raspentino and Rennes' Axel Ngando, Ligue 2 side Metz brought in Emmanuel Mayuka and Ricardo Pereira joined Nice on a two-year loan.
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