Birmingham City keeper Maik Taylor has hailed Manchester City's Shay Given as one of the world's best.
The Northern Ireland international has played alongside some of the best stoppers in world football, notably Edwin van der Sar in their days at Fulham.
But Taylor feels Given is currently at the peak of his career, as demonstrated during Sunday's goalless draw at St Andrew's.
Given pulled off a series of fine saves, most notably a second-half penalty stop from James McFadden, to earn his team a fortunate point.
top drawer
Taylor said: "How good is Given? He was always top quality at Newcastle but, since he has gone to Manchester City, he has almost gone to another level.
"He really is one of the world's best, not just in the Premier League, and he never put a foot wrong against us.
"His kicking and distribution was unbelievable and everything is top drawer about Shay at the moment. He is really on song.
"But he has worked extremely hard to get to the level that he is at now and good luck to him.
"He broke our hearts but it was a fantastic save from the penalty. It was a decent penalty. He definitely earned them a point and we felt a bit deflated.
"Shay rarely makes a mistake. Keepers are judged on mistakes and reliability and he rarely makes them.
"But in addition to that he also comes up with a world-class save when needed as well. He is a very good presence for Man City and I can't praise him highly enough."
