Fans have taken to the Belgian striker immediately

It is fair to say Hearts fans have found a new hero in Elton Kabangu. Four games into a loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, the Belgian striker has already scored five goals to demonstrate his predatory qualities. The latest two in Saturday’s 6-0 rampage at Dundee were finishes of the highest order.

Kabangu first sprinted clear of Clark Robertson to slot a composed finish beneath Trevor Carson as Hearts moved 3-0 ahead. He then claimed the fifth with a blistering volley after Kenneth Vargas flicked on James Penrice’s corner. Perhaps ‘Ka-BANG’ would be a more apt surname without the ‘u’.

It is notable that he is not completely satisfied, despite the adulation pouring from the stands at Dens Park. Hearts remain unbeaten in 2025 and now look a potent attacking threat after struggling to score goals earlier in the season. Much of that is down to Kabangu’s arrival. He insists there is more work to be done.

“I’m very happy. I think as a striker you want to score goals and I did. We won 6-0. I think it was a perfect night,” said the forward. “I think when you win games you're more positive, you're in a good flow, but we are also aware that we have done nothing. We're not satisfied. We want more, I think. That shows the ambition that we have as a team and as a club.

“I like to score goals. I don't want to score only the same goals. As a football player, you have to be able to score from different situations and different positions. In training, we train a lot on different situations so it's beneficial for me during the week. During the week I practice this and then at the weekend you can score like this and get different goals. It's positive.”

So far, the loan is working out even better than many people imagined. “For sure. When you score goals, when you win, it's always good and it's always positive,” said Kabangu. “If you go and see my first interview I was very positive. I was confident because I knew it was a good match between me and the club.

“So I was already confident and I'm not surprised because the manager gave me confidence in the club and the team. I think if you have a lot of confidence, and in general as a footballer, if you have confidence from a club and the staff then you can show yourself and that's what I'm doing.”

The manager, Neil Critchley, may have imbued Kabangu with confidence but he also substituted the Belgian before he could convert Saturday’s double into a hat-trick. “Yeah, he knows I'm someone who likes to be important. I like to score goals,” admitted Kabangu. “I was close to a hat-trick but I'll keep that for another time. He knows what is best for the team at that moment and it's his decision so it's on him.”

Pace, movement, link-up play and goalscoring ability make Kabangu an ideal foil for most forwards. He already partnered James Wilson and Kenneth Vargas in attack for Hearts, and paired up with Lawrence Shankland to good effect on Saturday. Both men etched their names on the scoresheet and Shankland’s through ball sent Kabangu off in a straight sprint with Robertson at the third goal.

“Pace is one of my qualities,” said Kabangu. “I think even now sometimes I can use it more in better situations but I'm not going to complain. The team's moving up the table. Shankland, we don't have to present him any more. His experience, he scored a lot of goals in this competition. I'm happy that I can play with him. I enjoyed it and last week I did with Wilson and also with Kenny.

“We know Shankland’s quality. He can come a lot more on the ball and he can keep the ball. It's beneficial for me if he's doing that. Then I can go more in the space because obviously I'm more the runner between me and him. So yeah, what I see is his quality and I think we help each other in a good way.”

The congested nature of the Scottish Premiership is illustrated by Hearts’ progress in the last two weeks. The Edinburgh club have gone from the relegation zone to seventh place with victories over Kilmarnock and Dundee, and are now just seven points behind third-placed Dundee United. European qualification is suddenly a very realistic prospect.

“Yeah, I think we need to stay relaxed and we need to work game-by-game and take it game-by-game because we know football can change very quickly,” explained Kabangu. “We won at Dundee and next week we have the cup game and we're going to take it game-by-game. Obviously we want to end up in a good spot but we are not focused on looking.

“We know what we can do and we need to continue on this. We have nothing and we want nothing. The only thing that we want is more and that's what we are doing and fighting for.”

Asked if he may hang around longer in Gorgie to become a permanent Hearts player, Kabangu gave nothing away. “It's early. It's too early to talk about this. I’m focused just on doing good, doing well and this has my attention for the moment,” he said.

Supporters chanting his name can only help. The Champs’ 1958 song ‘Tequila’ is now adapted in Kabangu’s honour having previously been used by Hearts fans to acclaim former striker Kyosuke Tagawa. “Yeah, very good. I enjoy it,” admitted the Belgian. “I really enjoy it. Like I say, when you have love from the fans, it gives you a boost. I’m looking forward to the next games already.”