Big budgets mean big signings, and the recruitment strategy of France's elite clubs has certainly delivered on that front ahead of the 2017/2018 Top 14 season, which kicks off on August 26.

With Clermont heading into the new campaign as defending champions, leading rivals Montpellier and Toulon have spent heavily to try and bridge the gap.

Here are 14 of the best deals made by France's top sides this summer.

Rabah Slimani (Stade Francais) to Clermont

France's premier tighthead prop is on the move for the first time in his career, having spent a remarkable nine years with Stade Francias, the peak of which was helping the club to a Top 14 title in 2015.

There is surely no better sign of a club's stability than minimal, quality recruitment over a raft of new signings, and Clermont fit that concept perfectly with Slimani one of just five new arrivals.

Still just 27, Slimani's move was announced last December and he went on to be a dominant force in the Six Nations - the replacement fiasco against Wales aside - as well as for Stade Francais in their run to a Challenge Cup title.

A compact, mobile prop whose best work still comes upfront in the scrum. Given his profile, he feels like the perfect Clermont recruit.