Arthur Cabral: Fiorentina's 'King of the Conference League' out to ruin West Ham's European dreams

Now, that might not seem like the most prestigious title to some, but, just like the tournament itself, it's not one that should be sniffed at. West Ham will certainly be treating Cabral with the respect he deserves, given his impressive record in the competition, coupled with their desperation to win what would be a first major European title since the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1965.

Cabral has racked up a record-breaking 12 goals across the first two seasons of the Conference League, first with former club Basel, and now with Fiorentina. Of even greater relevance for the Hammers, though, is that half of those strikes have come in this season's knockout stage, with Cabral netting in every round so far.

February's clash with Braga has actually proven key to kick-starting Cabral's Fiorentina career. Like many forwards, he took time to settle in Serie A, scoring just twice during his first six months at the Stadio Artemio Franchi. At that stage, coach Vincenzo Italiano was publicly challenging the €15m (£13m/$16m) signing to "show that he is worthy of Fiorentina", but to little avail.

The current campaign began as badly as the previous one had concluded, with Cabral spending most of his time on the bench - and sometimes staying on it for the whole game. By the start of February, he had managed just three league goals.

However, a cameo appearance away to Braga on February 16 changed everything. When Cabral came on, Fiorentina were already 2-0 up thanks to Jovic, the Serb's double cementing his hold on the starting striker berth.

But Cabral scored twice himself - and in just 15 minutes - to get himself back into Italiano's good books. The goals suddenly started to flow, with Cabral on target in four consecutive games in all competitions for the first time since joining La Viola.

To the 25-year-old, it felt like just reward for never having lost faith in himself. "If there is one thing I know how to do well in life, it is to score," he told Serie A's media channel. "It took me a while to adapt, but now I see the results of my work.

"I've been at Fiorentina for almost a year now and I’ve always said that my goal is to keep improving and I think that's what's happening. Now I'm seeing the results of my work.

"But I think my form coincides with the excellent performance of the team. I'm growing at the same pace. We are doing better and better and we are also scoring plenty of goals. The more we win, the more our team improves in our way of playing."

Cabral catching fire certainly coincided with Fiorentina's fantastic finish to the season, which saw them reach both the final of the Coppa Italia, where they were desperately unlucky to lose to Inter, and the Conference League.

But Italiano felt Cabral deserved credit for never letting his head drop while he was sitting on the sidelines. "He has proven that he can be effective, especially when he repeatedly came on with the right attitude as a substitute," the coach told Sky Sport Italia in March. "That's why we rewarded him with starts, and now he is putting in good performances and scoring goals."

Crucially, Cabral also demonstrated a greater willingness to press opponents than Jovic. "Cabral is playing consistently because he works so much to help the team," Italiano told reporters after the 4-1 win over Lech Poznan in April. "This should be everyone's behaviour and why we are getting great satisfaction out of him."

The objective now, of course, is to cap an encouraging second half of the season, for both Fiorentina and their leading scorer, by winning the Conference League.

Just like West Ham, the Viola's last major European success was a Cup Winners' Cup win, with the Italian club's drought dating back even further, to 1961. Victory truly would be a historic achievement, making this an incredible opportunity for Cabral and his colleagues.

"I want to be remembered not only as a good player, but as one of those who brought a trophy back to Florence," he revealed last month. "One day, I want my name to be up there with the Brazilian legends of Fiorentina."

Fire the Viola to victory on Wednesday night and he certainly will be: Arthur Cabral, King of the Conference League.