Germany vs England: Three Lions goalkeepers taking inspiration from World Cup winner Manuel Neuer

Jack Butland and Fraser Forster are vying to face the best No 1 in the world as they head to Berlin this weekend

Tom Heaton, Jack Butland and Fraser Forster (l-r) at St George’s Park (PA)

England’s blossoming goalkeeper department is taking inspiration from Germany’s Manuel Neuer as the complete modern-day No 1, with Jack Butland and Fraser Forster vying for the right to face the Bayern Munich keeper in Berlin.

With Joe Hart ruled out of Saturday’s friendly at the Olympic Stadium after picking up a calf strain, Stoke City’s Butland is expected to get the nod over Southampton’s Forster when Roy Hodgson selects his team to face the world champions.

Both Butland and Forster will travel to Germany aiming to win their fourth senior cap, in stark contrast to World Cup winner Neuer, 29, who will be winning his 64th cap for Joachim Löw’s team.

Neuer is now regarded as the world’s best and most innovative goalkeeper following his performances for club and country in recent years, and the likes of Butland and Forster are among those who are influenced by him and aspire to emulate the former Schalke custodian.

“People have put him [Neuer] up there as the best in the last five or six years, just because of the way he plays,” Butland said. “He is very imposing and he does things that make you stand back, and impress you.

“How he plays is not for everyone, but he has led the way for keeping goal and he is certainly someone [from whom] I look to take things on.”

Neuer’s readiness to act as a sweeper-keeper behind his defenders has been one of the most notable aspects of the German’s game, with many regarding him as the most influential and ground-breaking goalkeeper since Peter Schmeichel.

“Everyone takes note of his positioning and how high up the pitch he is,” Butland says. “You can take things from that. As a goalkeeper it’s so important to be in the right position to come and clear those through balls, to make those right decisions.

“I’m not sure it will work for everyone, but it works for Bayern Munich because of the amount of possession they have, and the control they have in games allows him to be much higher up the pitch.

“But he is a frame, he gets in the right positions and he blocks the ball with whatever he needs to do. That ruthlessness is important.”

Forster, who last played for England against Scotland in November 2014 before being sidelined for nine months with a knee injury, echoes Butland’s claims about Neuer being the current leader of the goalkeeping pack.

“Obviously, Neuer is a fantastic keeper and just has got this brilliant habit of keeping the ball out of the net,” Forster said. “He obviously has a really good reading of the game and starting position.

“They are all things you can try and take out of your game if it fits into the way you play or the way your team plays. But obviously Neuer is a top, top keeper and would be right up there as the best in the world, probably.”

Manuel Neuer (AFP)

But having trained alongside Hart ever since the Manchester City keeper’s loan spell at Birmingham earlier in his career, Butland insists that England have a confirmed rival to Neuer as one of the world’s best.

“Joe is right up there and he is one of the best in the world,” Butland said. “And whether it is watching on TV, training with him with England or back when he was at Birmingham, there is always things to learn from Joe.

“During the World Cup, I looked at goalkeepers with my keeper coach; the likes of Claudio Bravo, Keylor Navas – looking at their distribution and how they make it work – and Neuer, with the positions he takes up, so we did look quite extensively at that and discussed it.

“You can take things from it,” adds Butland. “You ask, ‘What is he doing right and how can it improve my game?’, and it’s certainly something I’ve been doing.”

For the first time in more than 20 years, England appear to be heading into a major tournament with strength in depth in the goalkeeping department.

But how far Hart, Butland, Forster and Burnley’s Tom Heaton must progress to be considered genuine rivals to Neuer as the very best may become clearer in Berlin.