8. Gareth Bale – Southampton to Tottenham – £7 million
The Welshman was tipped to be a star when coming through the ranks of Southampton’s youth academy, and Spurs recognised that potential by laying out £7m for his services in 2007. Life in London didn’t start well for the young Bale as the club always seemed to lose whenever he was in the side, but as he moved forward Tottenham found that they were a one-man team as Bale carried them single handedly towards the Champions League. He was sold to Real Madrid last summer for a €91m transfer fee.