De Gea or Neuer? Premier League Legends Cannot Agree on Best Goalkeeper in the World

Premier League legends Peter Schmeichel and Jamie Carragher, two men with precisely 800 appearances between them in England's top flight, could not agree on the best goalkeeper in the world when they got together in the Sky Sports studio for Monday Night Football this week.

After De Gea's wonder save had helped Manchester United earn a point against Liverpool at the weekend, part of the programme's analysis unsurprisingly focused on goalkeeping.

"From what I see, if I was picking a world XI then David de Gea would be in it," Carragher declared, even going as far as suggesting the Spaniard is second only to Schmeichel in Premier League history.

"We are lucky that we have the Premier League's greatest-ever goalkeeper here but I think De Gea is second," the 2005 Champions League winner explained.

"There have been some great Premier League goalkeepers - David Seaman, Petr Cech, especially when he was at Chelsea - but I would have De Gea second."

Schmeichel had no doubt that De Gea is top class, particularly drawing attention to what he sees as a real goalkeeping intelligence from the current United number one.

"It is like he is gliding over, he's not even touching the ground. It is how quickly that foot comes across and then how quickly he is up there and back on his feet," the Dane said while reviewing De Gea's incredible left leg save to deny Joel Matip at Anfield.

"This is what makes him different to so many of the others guys out there that we consider to be top 10. It's a quickness, it's an intelligence if you like. He understands what is happening in the game. He moves so quickly into the right position."

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Schmeichel also has plenty of time for Chelsea stopper Thibaut Courtois, drawing attention to the Belgian's ability to pick crosses out of the air and ease pressure on defenders. But, for him, it is Bayern Munich and Germany star Manuel Neuer who still leads the global goalkeeping stakes.

"My favourite goalkeeper at the moment is Manuel Neuer and has been for a long, long time and that's because of the style of goalkeeping that he gives to the world," Schmeichel stated.

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"I watched him when he played for Schalke at Old Trafford and [I was thinking], 'who is this young kid?'" the five-time Premier League champion said.

"He's brave, he's playing so far out of his goal. He's one of the very few goalkeepers who is actually off his line, far off his line, challenging the opposition and bringing the game to him. I like that."

Unfortunately for Neuer, he has struggled with injuries in the last few months. A broken foot caused him to miss the final weeks of last season, with surgery on the problem also ruling him out until the New Year in the 2017/18 campaign.