| 1 |  Alex Rufer | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | New Zealand Switzerland | Wellington Phoenix | 1996 | €0.6m |
| 2 |  Eboue Kouassi | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Cote d'Ivoire | UD Leiria | 1997 | €0.6m |
| 3 |  George Dobson | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | England | Wrexham AFC | 1997 | €0.6m |
| 4 |  Cícero | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | CD Tondela | 1997 | €0.6m |
| 5 |  Alem Pasic | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Austria | FC Blau-Weiss Linz | 1997 | €0.6m |
| 6 |  João Gamboa | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Portugal | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 1996 | €0.6m |
| 7 |  Oleksandr Demchenko | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Ukraine | Kolos Kovalivka | 1996 | €0.6m |
| 8 |  Amir Al-Ammari | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Iraq Sweden | Cracovia | 1997 | €0.6m |
| 9 |  Lamine Fomba | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | France Mali | Servette FC | 1998 | €0.6m |
| 10 |  Tomoki Takamine | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Japan | Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 11 |  Martin Remacle | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | Korona Kielce | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 12 |  Zé Ricardo | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Avaí FC | 1996 | €0.7m |
| 13 |  Ufuk Akyol | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Türkiye Germany | Konyaspor | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 14 |  Kento Misao | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Japan | Kashima Antlers | 1996 | €0.6m |
| 15 |  Aleksandr Troshechkin | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Arsenal Tula | 1996 | €0.7m |
| 16 |  Luca Palmiero | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Italy | US Avellino 1912 | 1996 | €0.5m |
| 17 |  Jakub Hromada | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Slovakia | FC Rapid 1923 | 1996 | €0.7m |
| 18 |  Assane Dioussé | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Senegal | AJ Auxerre | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 19 |  Gustavo Cazonatti | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Club Sporting Cristal | 1996 | €0.5m |
| 20 |  Amadou Diawara | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Guinea | CD Leganés | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 21 |  Juan Ignacio Méndez | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina Chile | Instituto ACC | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 22 |  Ronald | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Esporte Clube Vitória | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 23 |  Max Christiansen | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Germany | TSV 1860 Munich | 1996 | €0.5m |
| 24 |  Filip Lesniak | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Slovakia | Kolding IF | 1996 | €0.5m |
| 25 |  Santiago Cáseres | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Argentina | Without Club | 1997 | €0.7m |
| 26 |  Vyacheslav Yakimov | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Russia | Fakel Voronezh | 1998 | €0.7m |
| 27 |  Dodi | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Brazil | Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense | 1996 | €0.7m |
| 28 |  Benjamin Van Durmen | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | UTA Arad | 1997 | €0.5m |
| 29 |  Reno Wilmots | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Belgium | RFC Lüttich | 1997 | €0.5m |
| 30 |  Hamidou Traoré | Midfield - Defensive Midfield | Mali | Sariyer | 1996 | €0.7m |