Tottenham transfer news and rumors: Spurs linked with Napoli's Raul Albiol

Transfer rumors are awesome. Today, talkSPORT posted a story suggesting that Franco Baldini and Tottenham have opened negotiations with Napoli and Spanish national team defender Raul Albiol with an eye of bringing the 29-year old to White Hart Lane.

Some history: Albiol was spectacular during his peak years at Valencia, and turned that success into a move to Real Madrid in 2009. He never really established a place in the side, especially after Madrid purchased Ricardo Carvalho to replace him in 2010. He was sold to Napoli last season and has been a mainstay in the center of Napoli's defense ever since.

Based on the smell of the winds swirling around and through #batcountry right now, Spurs are clearly looking at players to help shore up their defense. Already strongly linked with Hector Moreno, Albiol would be another variation of that theme, but there the usual caveat applies to rumors such as this one. For starters, talkSPORT isn't exactly the most reputable of transfer mongers, and this is the sort of rumor article that is devoid of sources, quotes, and even a possible sale price.

Albiol can play in central defense or at the right back position, and it's clear this season that we can never have too many right backs, so there's something there. And while I'm suuuuuper skeptical that this is in fact a thing, looking at an aging Spanish defender currently playing in Italy and available as a bargain does have a smack of "Franco Baldini special" to it.

Spurs are almost certainly looking for ways to improve their defense. I'm not sure if Albiol would help in that regard or not. This rumor feels to me like one of those fully-formed-from-the-skull-of-Athena stories, but we'll keep an eye on it in case it starts getting traction in one of the more reputable papers.