With seven goals in six matches for West Bromwich Albion, Diomansy Kamara has become the most marked man in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Tony Mowbray, the Albion manager, understands why the striker attracts so much attention but does not begrudge him any of the delights that come with being a man in form.
With his goal that sealed the victory away to Colchester on Tuesday night, Kamara has now scored 19 this season — 14 of them under Mowbray — and has become an integral part of Albion's new style of play.
There is little doubt that Kamara is benefiting from the way that Albion play under Mowbray. With more accent on creativity and personal expression, Kamara is encouraged to run at defenders and make ingenious movements off the ball.
It is perhaps no coincidence that Kamara's return to form has come since the arrival, in the starting line-up, of Richard Chaplow. It is also no coincidence that Albion have now won four successive away matches.
Signed as a striker but equally comfortable on the right of midfield, Kamara has the ability to make spectators gasp in awe or, occasionally, sigh in frustration.
But Mowbray does not feel anything negative about the Senegalese. An advocate of artistic and stimulating football, Mowbray sees Kamara as essential to the immediate future of Albion.
At 26, Kamara, once of Modena in Italy and of Portsmouth, might not even be at his peak yet. When he moved to Albion during the Bryan Robson era for #1.5 million, few realised that here was a player of international calibre.
"We have been delighted with Diomansy since the day we arrived here," Mowbray said. "We could see what a good professional he was and how hard he worked.
"He would always look you in the eye when you spoke to him. He took on board what you wanted from him. Whatever rewards he gets, he fully deserves.
"We just want to put him in positions where he can do the most damage. We do tend to tinker with our team but we do try to put players where they can hurt the opposition.
"When Diomansy gets into positions where it is one-on-one with a defender or goalkeeper, he invariably scores. That is his talent and that is what he works on every day."
Kamara was linked with a move to AS Roma of Italy but if — and it is a big if — the link had substance, Mowbray never took it seriously. There was never a time when the manager came close to selling a player whom he wanted to keep at The Hawthorns.
This means that Kamara will remain on the playing staff for a good while yet, unless Roma or any other club offers a fee that would be too good to turn down.
"I don't think we were under serious threat of losing players to other clubs in January," Mowbray said. "There was a lot of speculation all month. You expect that.
"Had we given any clubs a glimmer of light that we were interested in doing business, that might have been an issue. But we never did. We do not want to sell our best players.
"But the players kept their focus and kept winning matches. And now we know what we have got until May. In the case of this team, you have to show some faith in them. They have done very well. I am proud of them."
With Albion scoring goals at will, the future of John Hartson has become a source of discussion. Rumours are rife that the Wales international striker is set to join Swansea City, the club that he supports.
However, Huw Jenkins, the Swansea chairman, says the prospect is unlikely, even though he has made an enquiry.
Hartson, who turns 32 in April, has made no secret of his desire to play for Swansea before he retires from the game. But if it happens, it will not be until the summer at the earliest.
"We don't feel signing John is something that would be quite right for us," Jenkins said. "We've made inquiries about a number of players and John is one of them. West Brom gave us the go-ahead last week and we've talked about it but it hasn't gone any further than that.
"Nobody has said no to us, but there are a few clubs talking to John and his agent."
Whatever, two things are likely: that Hartson has little future at The Hawthorns and that he will not struggle to find new employers.
* Pascal Zuberbuhler, the Albion goalkeeper, has joined Neuchatel Xamax of Switzerland on a free transfer.
