FOUR standout performances from four appearances thus far denote Laryea Kingston as a potential new Hearts icon. Paul Hartley has gone, Julien Brellier may be going, but supporters already appear to have found a replacement idol in the unassuming Ghanaian.

Judging by his television commentary during Monday night's victory over Motherwell, Craig Burley would choose to disagree with the above assertion. Nonetheless, Kingston's early midfield contributions indicate that at worst his impact at Tynecastle will be comparable with those made by Hartley and Brellier.

Following a debut man-of-the-match display at East End Park last month, the 26-year-old proved equally effective against Inverness, scored a slaver-worthy equaliser against St Mirren and then assisted with both goals in the 2-0 triumph at Fir Park. As a result, erasing memories of the talismanic Hartley has been a conspicuously straightforward process.

When Hearts brought the African on a short-term loan from Russian side Terek Grozny in January, the most prestigious Kingston known in Scotland was probably the ten-month-old son of Gwen Stefani. But the technique and tenacity of "Larry" have quickly elevated him to a position of prominence in Edinburgh.

Back in his native Accra, Ghana's capital, his recent prosperity has also been noted. Kingston is known by his countrymen as Bra Laryea, Bra meaning brother, a term of respect, and is a focal point of the Ghanaian national team, also referred to as the Black Stars.

The move to Hearts, not surprisingly, has been warmly received by those Ghanaians who watched him evolve into a promising young midfielder with the aptly-named Hearts of Oak. Francis Maccarthy, a director of the club, remains one of Kingston's closest allies.

"I spend most of my time with Larry when he is back here. I call him every day," says Maccarthy. "After he played against Motherwell on Monday he called me to tell me the result. We are all happy and we are very proud of him.

"We have Hearts of Oak here so, after Larry's chance to go to Bolton Wanderers in January did not happen, I said he should try Hearts in Scotland. Since he has gone there we hear a lot more about him than when he was in the Russian league. He is happy with the team. He has been calling me every day telling me about them."

Kingston's goal and overall performance in the humble surroundings of Brentford's Griffin Park last month helped Ghana to an emphatic 4-1 friendly victory over Nigeria, their first defeat of the Super Eagles for 15 years.

For Maccarthy, it simply exemplified the potential he and his colleagues identified many years ago in Accra.

"When Larry came to Hearts of Oak in 2001 we had a lot of top players. We had just won the African Confederations Cup and the Super Cup and he couldn't get into the team easily. We could see he had talent and he came into the team the following year.

"He was then loaned to Al-Ittihad, a Libyan team, and came back a more mature player. He was featuring every week and because of this he was offered a contract in Israel [with Maccabi Ahi Nazareth].

"He scored in some of our most important matches, sometimes even playing as a lone striker. He played a major role in the team when he was here because he had that fighting spirit. Whenever Larry played for us we always got a good result.

"He is an all-round player, a total footballer. Anywhere he goes he can make an impact, and in Scotland you are already seeing his talents. Larry could easily play for a top club in the Premiership, there is no two ways about it.

"When he played for the Black Stars against Nigeria, there were people all over Ghana saying he was man of the match. You could see he had quality and most of the players on the pitch were playing in top European leagues."

Kingston's career has taken him across two continents since his formative years with local club Great Olympics. His spell in Libya was essential to his development and Hearts of Oak fully reaped the benefit. Then came the move to Israel, but he made only two Intertoto Cup appearances for Maccabi Ahi Nazareth before being released and joining Hapoel Tel Aviv.

In 2004 he transferred to Russia with Krylya Sovetov Samara and then on to the Chechen club Terek. Following their relegation from the Russian Premier League at the end of 2005, Kingston was loaned to Lokomotiv Moscow and quickly attracted the attention of Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov.

Tynecastle regulars are now keen to determine whether their new hero will stay or go upon the completion of his loan deal. Kingston agreed a three-and-a-half-year deal worth £15,000 a week with Hearts in January, which will continue from the summer assuming Romanov exercises his option to buy the player permanently from Terek.

On the surface that hints at a strong tendency to stick around in the capital, and adulation from a dedicated band of Jambos can only help.

"I said when Hearts were trying to agree the loan deal that Larry was a quality player who would deliver great performances. He is doing that now," says Alexander Fedoseev, the player's agent.

"He likes working hard. Running from box to box and crossing are some top attributes of his. Asamoah Gyan has scored eight times for Ghana from Larry's crosses from the right. It is unbelievable. Larry makes miracles."

Examining the statistics of Gyan, the Udinese forward, reveals an impressive international scoring record of 11 goals in 20 outings. Assisting with eight of these strikes further emphasises Kingston's danger to opposing teams, especially from the wide-right berth which he fills so effectively for his national team.

Hearts have hitherto deployed him in a central midfield capacity, but a moment of tactical astuteness from Anatoli Korobochka and Stevie Frail at Fir Park on Monday saw Kingston switched to the right flank to accommodate the 65th-minute introduction of Eggert Jonsson. Sixty seconds later, the Ghanaian was slinging over the cross which brought Hearts a second goal.

"He is a very experienced and intelligent player who knows how to play different positions," continues Fedoseev. "He can have a major influence on things."

To play on the pseudonym of Ghana's national football team, Laryea Kingston is a Black Star in more ways than one.