Arsenals centre back pairing Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker both had a great calendar year in 2013 and another top four defender who could blossom in 2014 is Liverpool's Mamadou Sakho. Sakho joined Liverpool in the summer for a reported £17 million and has had a promising first six months at Anfield. It takes defenders coming from abroad a while to acclimatise to the Premier League but Sakho has shown signs that he could become one of the top defenders in the league. Mertesacker and Vincent Kompany both made slow starts to their careers in England but have both established themselves as amongst the best. Sakho reminds me a lot of Vincent Kompany: he has everything to be a great defender; pace, strength, positioning, awareness, leadership and he is good in possession. What Sakho needs in 2014 is a run of games and a settled defensive partner. So far Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has chopped and changed his central defence which hasnt helped Sakho. If that changes in 2014, Mamadou Sakho could prove to be one of the best centre backs in the Premier League.
