| 1 |  Patrick Berg | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Norway | FK Bodø/Glimt | 1997 | €6.0m |
| 2 |  Ibrahima Sissoko | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali France | VfL Bochum | 1997 | €6.0m |
| 3 |  Vítor Carvalho | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | SC Braga | 1997 | €6.0m |
| 4 |  Charles Vanhoutte | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | OGC Nice | 1998 | €6.0m |
| 5 |  Christopher Martins | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Luxembourg Cape Verde | Spartak Moscow | 1997 | €6.0m |
| 6 |  Mathías Villasanti | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Paraguay | Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense | 1997 | €6.0m |
| 7 |  Kristijan Jakic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Croatia | FC Augsburg | 1997 | €6.5m |
| 8 |  Carlos Rodríguez | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mexico | CD Cruz Azul | 1997 | €5.0m |
| 9 |  Pedro Chirivella | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | Panathinaikos FC | 1997 | €5.0m |
| 10 |  Kevin Lenini | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Cape Verde Portugal | FC Krasnodar | 1997 | €5.0m |
| 11 |  Ben Sheaf | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Wrexham AFC | 1998 | €7.0m |
| 12 |  Santiago Ascacíbar | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina Italy | Club Estudiantes de La Plata | 1997 | €7.0m |
| 13 |  Tomás Belmonte | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina Italy | CA Boca Juniors | 1998 | €4.7m |
| 14 |  Nikola Moro | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Croatia | Bologna FC 1909 | 1998 | €4.5m |
| 15 |  Amir Hadziahmetovic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Bosnia-Herzegovina Denmark | Hull City | 1997 | €4.5m |
| 16 |  Alan Cervantes | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mexico | CF América | 1998 | €4.5m |
| 17 |  Erick | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Esporte Clube Bahia | 1997 | €4.5m |
| 18 |  Hamza Choudhury | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Bangladesh England | Leicester City | 1997 | €4.5m |
| 19 |  Berat Özdemir | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye | Basaksehir FK | 1998 | €4.2m |
| 20 |  Thiago Maia | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Sport Club Internacional | 1997 | €4.0m |
| 21 |  Pablo Rosario | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Dominican Republic Netherlands | FC Porto | 1997 | €8.0m |
| 22 |  Azor Matusiwa | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands Angola | Ipswich Town | 1998 | €8.0m |
| 23 |  Salih Özcan | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye Germany | Borussia Dortmund | 1998 | €4.0m |
| 24 |  Allan | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | CR Flamengo | 1997 | €4.0m |
| 25 |  Daniil Fomin | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Dynamo Moscow | 1997 | €8.0m |
| 26 |  Dejan Ljubicic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Austria | GNK Dinamo Zagreb | 1997 | €4.0m |
| 27 |  Uros Racic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia | Aris Thessaloniki | 1998 | €3.5m |
| 28 |  Lewis Travis | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Derby County | 1997 | €3.5m |
| 29 |  Niklas Dorsch | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | 1.FC Heidenheim 1846 | 1998 | €3.5m |
| 30 |  Raniele | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Sport Club Corinthians Paulista | 1996 | €3.5m |