Gignac and Rémy added to OM armoury

Olympique de Marseille have signed André-Pierre Gignac from Toulouse FC for a reported €18m fee, while confirming that his €13m fellow France striker Loïc Rémy will be able to play for the club despite concerns over a heart problem.

Gignac, 24, has agreed a four-year contract with the French champions and the player born in Martigues – not far from Marseille – said it would be "a great source of pride to play for the team I supported as a boy". The centre-forward, who began his professional career at FC Lorient, has scored four goals in 16 appearances for France along with the 34 he managed in 98 league games for Toulouse.

Ligue 1's top marksman in 2008/09 with 24 strikes, Gignac will line up alongside Rémy now that the 23-year-old's move from OGC Nice has been rubber-stamped after the conclusion of medical tests. Rémy accepted a five-term deal with OM last week as part of a €13m transfer from Nice, but his future was thrown into doubt after he was diagnosed with a heart condition. Yet following consultations with three cardiologists, Marseille's chief medical officer Christophe Baudet said that the player's problem "will not prevent him from doing his job".

Capped twice by France, Rémy had been linked with a number of clubs having registered 26 times in 68 league fixtures for Nice. "He is a young international with huge potential, fast and powerful," said OM coach Didier Deschamps. "The good thing is he can play in every position up front. I'm happy to get him." Rémy is viewed as a replacement for Mamadou Niang – scorer of 18 Ligue 1 goals last season – who recently departed for Fenerbahçe SK. Deschamps has also let Fernando Morientes and Bakari Koné leave the Stade Vélodrome this summer. OM will discover their UEFA Champions League group stage opponents when the draw is made in Monaco on Thursday.