FRANCESCO Baiano has been playing fantasy football this season - though, by and large, not the kind that Carlton Palmer and the rest of the Southampton team accused him of during last Saturday's FA Cup tie, writes PETER WHITE.

The Italian has outscored the likes of team-mate Paulo Wanchope, another surprise package, to drive Derby County towards possible UEFA Cup qualification in their first season at Pride Park.

And he has made himself as important to Jim Smith's impressive home performers as his rather better-known fellow-countryman Gianfranco Zola is to Chelsea.

A dozen goals so far is an impressive return for the man signed from Fiorentina, where he was in the shadow of world-class performers such as Gabriel Batistuta.

He could be forgiven for thinking the Premiership is easy meat.

Not least if he takes a quick glance at one newspaper's Fantasy League ratings to find himself the top-ranked forward, leaving Bergkamp, Cole etc in his wake.

Yet Baiano has not convinced everyone by his razor-sharp skills and precision shooting.

Take Southampton, for instance. Their stubborn resistance in the Premiership clash with Derby had been undermined by a controversial penalty back in September.

Lo and behold, Baiano tripped into the Saints penalty area on Saturday and it seemed to take only a glare from Palmer before he was heading for the deck.

Gerald Ashby, a referee not unfamiliar with controversy, pointed to the spot, Derby were on their way to the fourth round of the FA Cup and the Italian, while feted by his followers, was bitterly accused by his opponents of taking a dive.

It prompted Smith to spring to the defence of a man who has proved irrepressible in the first half of a season when Derby share, with Manchester United, the honour of remaining unbeaten at home in the League. "He's not a diver," stormed former Rovers boss Smith.

"Once he gets in the area, he only has one thing in his mind and that is scoring a goal."

That may be and there can be a tendency to over-react whenever one of the Premiership's foreign imports is grounded by a challenge.

But it still looked 'iffy' to me on TV and Rovers defenders will have to be wary of the forward who often ghosts into the box from a position just behind the two frontrunners.

Rovers boss Roy Hodgson had his own views on that incident, saying: "I came across him three or four times in my time in Italy and we have seen enough of him here to know he's a very dangerous customer and certainly in the penalty area because he goes to ground quite easily and sometimes he gets penalties."

Hodgson, however, refuted any suggestions of a wider issue, adding that all he was saying was: "He got a penalty last week that wasn't a penalty. Let's hope he doesn't get another one on Sunday."

Baiano himself still speaks little English but, according to Italian sources, he didn't have too much to say for himself in any case when he was in Serie A with Fiorentina.

A quick, tricky player, his record is not unlike that of Rovers' Kevin Gallacher.

And they have made a few people take notice by featuring so strongly in the Premiership's golden boot race.

Baiano has scored a similar number of goals to Gallacher and some of them have been vital to Derby's cause.

"He has been absolutely essential for us," said the manager.

"So much of what is created stems from him and he has a wonderful understanding with Stefano Eranio.

"We got him for £1.3 million and, even as a 30-year-old, you would be talking three, four or five million in this country.

"He has scored 12 goals for us and is the most natural goalscorer we have got. He has fitted in well." Baiano will have to do without his soulmate Eranio tomorrow, as his fellow-Italian is one of three Derby players hit by suspension.

But that shouldn't unduly affect their attacking strength.

They have averaged two goals a game and, at the same time, conceded just five in front of their own fans - a defensive total bettered only by Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Baiano's expertise has been largely responsible for their goal power.

"He seems to know exactly where to run and when to make his runs," said one regular Derby observer.

Rovers will be aware of the threat as they bid to extend an outstanding away record tomorrow and claim their first League 'double' of the season.

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