With Paris Saint-Germain’s heavy summer spending, Ligue 1 has become even more competitive. Since the dominant spell of Olympique Lyonnais ended with Bordeaux’s title win in the 2008/09 season, things have been shaken up at both the top and the bottom of the table. This summer Lyon adopted a new transfer policy, looking more to the future and giving hints that some of the more experienced members of the squad could leave.

Lyon’s entire left side was linked with a move away from the club – left-back Aly Cissokho attracted interest from Liverpool, Newcastle and Juventus, whilst it looked as though Michel Bastos’ wish of playing in Serie A would come true when Juventus came knocking for him as well. It was thought that the lure of playing in those particular leagues would be too much to resist.

At the start of summer, it seemed as though Lyon chairman Jean-Michel Aulas would be willing to sell; going so far as to give an ultimatum to Juventus to make their bid or stop talking about the player. Rémi Garde even hinted that either Bastos or Cissokho could leave the club, but not both of them. Given the new transfer policy adopted by Lyon this summer, it seemed as though the cash received for these players would also be too good to resist.

“They are two players who play on the left side of my team, so one or the other can leave but probably not both of them.”

Both of these players remained with the club and Bastos especially, has made his presence felt in the current league campaign so far – stepping up to the plate and leading the way as Lyon set out to prove their doubters wrong this season. Michel Bastos not only decided to stay with Lyon but signed a new contract. The 28 year-old winger is now tied to the club until 2015, to the delight of many Lyon fans.

Since joining the club from Lille in 2009, the creativity and presence of Michel Bastos has been a joy to behold.  His entertaining style, trickery, powerful shots and free-kicks have ensured that he is a fan favourite amongst the Stade de Gerland faithful. The Brazilian winger has scored 19 goals for Lyon so far in Ligue 1, including four goals this season for the club. His versatility has also been used to fairly good effect since his arrival; playing in a variety of positions and roles as the matches progress.  He is always looking to move forward and puts the space available to him to good use.

In addition, Bastos has had a strong effect on the current goalscoring run of striker Bafétimbi Gomis. With Lyon’s star striker Lisandro López out injured, Gomis has filled the void and is currently Ligue 1′s top goalscorer with seven goals in nine games. Michel Bastos provided the assist for three of those goals. Bafétimbi Gomis is not the type of striker who will score every chance he receives but with the Brazilian international has, so far, done his best to support the striker in both league and continental competition this season to remarkable effect.

López should enjoy similar support upon his return from injury in order to consolidate the Lyonnais attack.  The tactical possibilities in midfield which have opened up to Rémi Garde so far are fairly impressive. With the emergence of Clément Grenier and new signing Gueïda Fofana, Jean-Michel Aulas can be happy that his gross spend for the year remains in check whilst Rémi Garde can rest assured that the quality remains in the side to do well this season.

The potential competitiveness of Ligue 1 this season may have played a part in Lyon’s decision to pull Michel Bastos off the market. PSG spent heavily in order to launch an assault on the league competition in France. Lille consolidated their young squad and Marseille made some seemingly smart signings. With this being said, Lyon needed to ensure that the summer was successful enough for them to remain competitive with regards to both incoming and outgoing transfers.

The results so far show that Lyon are not yet ready to give up their space in Ligue 1′s the top three too easily.

Jason is a columnist for French Football Weekly.  You can also follow him on Twitter.

Photo courtesy of thibault poriel.