Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 25K Coins
We score every FC 27 Ultimate Team card in every role it can play. These are the 4,731 Holding Defensive Midfielders you can buy for 25K coins or less, ranked by Meta Score with their best chemistry style. Nmecha leads with a Meta Score of 85.1 and costs about 3.3k coins. Cheaper: Zaïre-Emery scores 83.7 for about 1.2k coins.
Updated October 28, 2026
Top picks
Holding Defensive Midfielders ranking
- 1
CDM85.1
3.3KHolding · Shadow
- 2
CDM84.87.4KHolding · Shadow
- 3
CDM84.213KHolding · Shadow
- 4
CDM84.13.9KHolding · Shadow
- 5
CDM83.71.2KHolding · Shadow
- 6
CDM83.58KHolding · Shadow
- 7
CDM83.315.3KHolding · Shadow
- 8
CDM83.123.8KHolding · Shadow
- 9
CDM82.813KHolding · Shadow
- 10
CDM82.824.5KHolding · Shadow
- 11
CDM82.7800Holding · Shadow
- 12
CDM82.5900Holding · Shadow
- 13
CDM82.53KHolding · Shadow
- 14
CDM82.413KHolding · Shadow
- 15
CDM82.22.8KHolding · Guardian
- 16
CDM82.25.7KHolding · Shadow
- 17
CDM81.92.8KHolding · Shadow
- 18
CDM81.52.9KHolding · Shadow
- 19
CDM81.42.9KHolding · Shadow
- 20
CDM81.3700Holding · Shadow
- 21
CDM81.31KHolding · Shadow
- 22
CDM81.2850Holding · Shadow
- 23
CDM81.113KHolding · Shadow
- 24
CDM81.01.3KHolding · Shadow
- 25
CDM81.014KHolding · Guardian
- 26
CDM80.92.8KHolding · Shadow
- 27
CDM80.8800Holding · Shadow
- 28
CDM80.818.3KHolding · Shadow
- 29
CDM80.622.5KHolding · Shadow
- 30
CDM80.56.3KHolding · Shadow
Holding Defensive Midfielders at a glance
- Cards ranked
- 4,731
- Avg. Meta Score, top 10
- 83.7
- Median price, top 10
- 10.5k
- Most common chem style
- Shadow
- Most common PlayStyle+
- Intercept
What does a Holding (CDM) do?
A pivotal role in modern football, this defence-minded midfielder focuses on guarding their backline during attacks, and covering off against counter-attacks, with limited attacking support.
Focus options
- Roaming
- Defend
How we rank Holding Defensive Midfielders
Meta Score rates a card in a specific role rather than overall. It weighs the attributes that role needs, PlayStyles and PlayStyles+, AcceleRATE, skill moves, weak foot, height and Role+ / Role++, and tests every chemistry style at full chemistry to find the best one. OVR only averages attributes, so a lower-rated card often plays better in the right role.
Only cards on the console Transfer Market for 25K coins or less are included. Switch to PC above the ranking to rebuild the list from PC prices.
What is Meta Score?Holding Defensive Midfielders for every budget
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 10K
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 50K
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 100K
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 250K
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 500K
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 1M
- Best Holding Defensive Midfielders
FAQ
Who are the best Holding Defensive Midfielders under 25K coins?
By Meta Score, the top three are Nmecha (85.1), Tchouaméni (84.8) and João Neves (84.2).
What is the cheapest option among the top 10 Holding Defensive Midfielders?
Zaïre-Emery costs about 1.2k coins and has a Meta Score of 83.7, 1.4 points behind the best.
Which chemistry style is best for Holding Defensive Midfielders?
Shadow is the best chemistry style for 10 of the top 10. The best style depends on the card, so every row in the ranking shows the one that gets the most out of it.
Why isn't this list sorted by OVR?
OVR averages attributes and ignores PlayStyles, AcceleRATE, skill moves, weak foot and height. Meta Score weighs what the role needs, which is why Sano (OVR 81) reaches a Meta Score of 82.7.
How often is this list updated?
Prices refresh throughout the day and the ranking is rebuilt at least every 30 minutes. A card's Meta Score changes when the card is upgraded or the scoring is retuned.
Are these console or PC prices?
Console prices by default. Switch to PC above the ranking to see PC prices; on budget pages the list is also rebuilt from PC prices.