Gabriel Heinze is set to become French club Marseille's 10th signing of the summer.

OM released a statement which saying they have reached an "agreement in principle" with the defender and his club side Real Madrid over his transfer to the Stade Velodrome.

The 31-year-old former Manchester United player should sign a three-year deal soon.

The statement on Marseille's official website, www.om.net, read: "The Argentina international should come to Marseille soon for the completion of the contract and to take a medical."

Heinze, a former Paris St Germain defender who can play at left-back or centre-half, was linked with a move to Marseille earlier this summer but it was thought his wage demands ended any hope of a deal being struck.

But it appears to have been resurrected and OM coach Didier Deschamps could soon have another high-profile player at his disposal.

On Tuesday, former Spain striker Fernando Morientes, who was a free agent after leaving Valencia at the end of last season, joined the Mediterranean side along with classy midfielder Fabrice Abriel, who moved from Lorient.

The other players to have made the switch to the Velodrome in the close season are Lucho Gonzalez, Stephane M'Bia, Souleymane Diawara, Edouard Cisse, Cyril Rool, Elinton Andrade and Charley Fomen.

With such a smorgasbord of talent in his squad, the pressure will be on new coach Deschamps to deliver OM a first Ligue 1 title since 1993.

The tough-tackling Heinze joined Real Madrid from Manchester United in the summer of 2007.

Despite remaining a first-choice pick for his country, he was not a regular at the Bernabeu, starting 17 Primera Division matches in the 2007/08 season and 24 league games last campaign.

With the Spanish giants having signed versatile full-back Alvaro Arbeloa from Liverpool yesterday, Heinze's game time at Madrid was likely to be even more limited this season.

He was a favourite at PSG, who are Marseille's arch rivals, in his spell at the Parc des Princes between 2001-04. Before that, he played for Real Valladolid and Newell's Old Boys.

Should he complete his move to OM, Heinze is likely to form a centre-back partnership with fellow summer signing and former Bordeaux star Diawara, with Taye Taiwo a regular fixture at left-back.