Onana picks his best-ever keeper

The Manchester United man has been in good form and made several vital saves in the thrilling 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the Emirates Cup quarter-final.

In the latest edition of Inside United, the official club magazine, we asked the Cameroon international about his idols and he was quick to lavish praise on Neuer, who really first came across the radar of Reds fans when producing a remarkable performance between the sticks for Schalke in the 2010/11 Champions League semi-final first leg in Gelsenkirchen.

Since moving to Bayern Munich, Neuer has continued to show his qualities and Onana feels his role in helping Germany win the 2014 World Cup should never be underestimated.

"Well, who has inspired me the most?" he told Inside United. "That is a very good question because, being a goalkeeper and especially trying to be a modern goalkeeper, you have to look to a lot of goalkeepers. If I had to choose one who made me think different, I would say Manuel Neuer.

"Why? Because of his way, the way he plays. At the World Cup in 2014, I remember, when they won in Brazil. When I was watching that World Cup, I found someone I wanted to look like, he made me think differently.

"Obviously, before him, I was still in the Academy but I had a lot of goalkeepers I was looking up to and who I was thinking of. But, if I have to choose one, I would say Neuer. He made me think differently."

When pushed on what it is that Onana most admires in the 37-year-old, he explained: "You know, he’s a modern goalkeeper and a modern goalkeeper, for me, that means he takes a lot of responsibility and deals with all the pressure.

"You are the spare man and the team has to use you as a normal player, you know. So you are the plus one most of the time. So, for me, he is one of the best at doing this and I say it’s a big honour to speak about him.”

Neuer helped establish the sweeper-keeper concept and has always been brave enough to come out of his goal and help influence the play, which helped him win 11 Bundesliga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies with Bayern.

Neuer was named in Germany's squad for the latest internationals, alongside Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but was forced to pull out due to a muscular problem.

Nonetheless, he will hope to take part in Euro 2024 after recovering from the broken leg that ruled him out of much of last season.

Despite his veteran status, the Bayern favourite is still the man Andre respects the most.

"For me, he is still the king because, when you look at that position especially, I think it’s the position that has changed the most in the last 20 years," he reasoned. "The goalkeeper now is a plus one, so you have to deal with the situation.

"He's a big personality, a big guy. He assumes everything is upon me and he is a good one to look up to.”