Wigan Athletic star has only scratched the surface

The Wales international striker has scored three of his five club goals this season in his last four appearances.

After Latics repelled January interest from Cardiff City, Moore has knuckled down and found his best form this term.

And Cook believes his brace at the weekend, ironically against the Bluebirds, has put him in pole position for a starting spot at his summer’s Euros.

“Kieffer’s a big player for us, an athletic No.9, he’s scoring goals and he’s a Welsh international,” Cook enthused.

“And as you can see by his performance on Saturday, he’s not been distracted at all by the transfer talk.

"Maybe if he believes in himself a little bit more, there’s even more to come from him – but that’s for us to work on.

“For all players, confidence is key. But he’s got three goals for us in the last four matches, he’s leading the line for his country, so he shouldn’t be short on confidence.

“Leading the line for your country is a magnificent honour. And to come down to Cardiff and score two goals and play so well is great for him.”

Cook also refused to divulge how close Moore came to leaving Latics last month, after Cardiff’s £2.3million bid was rejected.

“It’s an irrelevant question, with the greatest respect,” he said. “What do you want me to say? We didn’t lose him, that’s the only thing that matters.

“Cardiff came in for him, they never came back, and that’s football.”

It was certainly a case of ‘the one that got away’ for Cardiff boss Neil Harris, who saw Moore give his backline a torrid time.

“When you’re linked with a player, there’s always an added spice when you face them in the future,” said Harris.

“He’s the national team No.9, and in the capital city he put in a real performance.

“He upped his game because he wanted to show Ryan Giggs, Cardiff City and the whole nation he should be wearing the No.9 jersey in the Euros this summer.”