| 1 |  James Sands | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States | FC St. Pauli | 2000 | €3.0m |
| 2 |  Kartal Yılmaz | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye | Besiktas JK | 2000 | €2.6m |
| 3 |  Billy Mitchell | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Millwall FC | 2001 | €3.0m |
| 4 |  Leon Flach | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Germany | Jagiellonia Bialystok | 2001 | €3.0m |
| 5 |  Hugo Guillamón | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Spain | HNK Hajduk Split | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 6 |  Cheikh Niasse | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Senegal France | Hellas Verona | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 7 |  Mykola Mykhaylenko | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ukraine | Dynamo Kyiv | 2001 | €2.5m |
| 8 |  Markus Solbakken | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Norway | Aarhus GF | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 9 |  Emil Kornvig | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Denmark | SK Brann | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 10 |  Adriano Firmino | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | CD Santa Clara | 1999 | €2.5m |
| 11 |  Zanocelo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Ceará Sporting Club | 2001 | €2.5m |
| 12 |  Dani Silva | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal | FC Midtjylland | 2000 | €2.5m |
| 13 |  Federico Navarro | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CA Rosario Central | 2000 | €2.3m |
| 14 |  Adam Randell | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Bristol City | 2000 | €2.2m |
| 15 |  Franco Ibarra | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | CA Rosario Central | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 16 |  Yannik Keitel | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | VfB Stuttgart | 2000 | €3.5m |
| 17 |  Edwin Cerrillo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Mexico | Los Angeles Galaxy | 2000 | €3.5m |
| 18 |  Kristijan Belic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Serbia Belgium | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 19 |  César Araújo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Uruguay | Orlando City SC | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 20 |  Jordan Holsgrove | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Scotland England | GD Estoril Praia | 1999 | €3.5m |
| 21 |  Jadsom | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Al-Wahda FC | 2001 | €3.5m |
| 22 |  Andrés Perea | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | United States Colombia | New York City FC | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 23 |  Marco Pompetti | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Italy | US Catanzaro | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 24 |  Roberto Meraz | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mexico | Mazatlán FC | 1999 | €2.0m |
| 25 |  Rodrigo Herrera | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | Club Atlético Platense | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 26 |  Danley Jean Jacques | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Haiti | Philadelphia Union | 2000 | €2.0m |
| 27 |  Jean Onana | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Cameroon | Genoa CFC | 2000 | €1.8m |
| 28 |  Cheick Condé | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Guinea | Venezia FC | 2000 | €1.8m |
| 29 |  Thomas van den Belt | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Netherlands | Twente Enschede FC | 2001 | €1.8m |
| 30 |  Jurica Prsir | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Croatia | HNK Gorica | 2000 | €1.8m |