Cardiff City boss Brian Barry-Murphy says there is more to come from Jack Moylan after the midfielder underlined his status as one of the Championship's rising stars.
Having competed against the Bluebirds for promotion last season with Lincoln City, Moylan became a key target for Cardiff prior to life back in the Championship.
The former League of Ireland player has delivered and then some since his summer move to south Wales.
He took his tally to five league goals for the season with a double in the 5-1 demolition of Watford.
Moylan was deployed as a makeshift striker in midweek, a decision which only highlighted an attacking threat that has seen him score four goals in six caps for the Republic of Ireland since debuting in May.
And now Moylan is proving to be one to watch for Championship defences, with only Middlesbrough's Will Lankshear, Southampton's Cyle Larin and West Ham's Jarrod Bowen scoring more league goals so far this season.
With two assists to his name, only 22-times capped England international Bowen, Lankshear and Southampton's Finn Azaz have more than his seven goal involvements.
But Barry-Murphy suggested the player brought to British football from Shelbourne in 2023 has always been capable of delivering a goal threat at this level.
"One of the big reasons we brought him to the club was how adaptable he is to different situations," said Barry-Murphy, after the surprise decision to select his compatriot ahead of Callum Robinson as a lone forward against Watford.
"I saw him play as a centre forward in Ireland on occasions - not lots of times, but I saw him in some key games.
"He has certain qualities there that can be very useful for us.
"When he ran through on goal [against Watford] it was very reassuring to see him take so much time because we've created good chances this season and not always taken them.
"That was a good sign of real composure that allowed us to score such a great goal."
Barry-Murphy was coy on whether Moylan will stay in the role as Cardiff face second-place Middlesbrough on Saturday, 17 October (12:30 BST), pointing out that he has also been a threat from midfield.
Fellow Ireland international Robinson scored his second goal in two games after coming on as a sub against Watford, while last season's top scorer Yousef Salech has returned to training following a shoulder problem.
But Barry-Murphy did say there is more to come from Moylan, who has also scored in the EFL Cup this term, adding: "He knows the large part of the game he has to improve, and he will do because he has the mentality to do it.
"I think he's a very exciting player to watch because of how attack-minded he is, and we don't want to take away any of that while obviously adding to the parts of his game that he needs to improve."
Moylan could well have enjoyed a career-first hat-trick in English football against Watford.
Having scored twice before the break, including from the penalty spot, Moylan looked a certainty to take another when Chris Willock went down in the box after the hour mark.
But Willock stepped up amid boos from home fans and his spot kick was duly saved.
"I have to hold my hands up and say I didn't do much planning [on penalties]," said Barry-Murphy, having admitted he was not sure why Willock was chosen to take the spot-kick, pointing to the fact Salech is the side's regular taker.
"I wasn't fully aware of [the boos], but everyone seemed pleased afterwards. I'm sure the supporters will value the performance, and Chris was a big part of that, so I'm sure we'll all get behind him."