Though they are not particularly short on forward players, the San Jose Earthquakes appear to be interested in signing Simon Dawkins, a 23 year old English player who can fill either an attacking midfield or forward role. Dawkins has most recently played with Tottenham Hotspur’s reserve side before joining San Jose on trial, and according to a story in the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Quakes coach Frank Yallop sounds optimistic about a deal getting done.

“Simon wants to do it; Tottenham wants to do it,” San Jose coach Frank Yallop said. “Hopefully we’ll have some good news soon.”

According to Robert Jonas (who is the best Quakes blogger around, for my money), Dawkins played as a withdrawn forward behind the strikers in a 4-3-1-2 formation in San Jose’s last training match. If Frank Yallop wants to stick with that setup going forward, he doesn’t have a plethora of players who are experienced playing in that position, so Dawkins would probably be a good pickup if he can stay healthy.

His health is the biggest issue, and the reason he isn’t enjoying a successful footballing career in England. A series of bad injuries has seriously limited Dawkins’ time on the field for his entire professional career. I think we can all get behind a footballer who found a team to take him after a string of bad injuries and then enjoyed a successful career afterwards, so I’m hoping that this story is legit and that Dawkins can get his footballing career back on track.

Spurs released Dawkins from his contract in 2009, but brought him back on a reserve deal this season. As a result, the move being discussed is a loan, and not a free transfer signing.