SAN JOSE — The Earthquakes might have found a replacement for Simon Dawkins: another talented young attacking midfielder from Tottenham Hotspur.

San Jose is considering John Bostock, who made his professional debut in England at age 15, for a loan deal with the Spurs. Bostock played the first half Tuesday in the Quakes’ 4-0 victory over Ventura County Fusion at Oxnard College.

Joining him in the starting lineup was center back Nana Attakora, a starter with the Canadian national team. General manager John Doyle said Tuesday the team hopes to sign Attakora, who played last year in Finland.

Bostock, 21, was on loan with Swindon Town in England’s League One through January. The Spurs have loaned him to English clubs since 2009.

Tottenham’s Dawkins currently is on loan with Aston Villa of the English Premier League after playing the previous two years in San Jose. He wouldn’t be available for Major League Soccer until the June transfer window if the Quakes could strike a deal with him. Dawkins resurrected his career in San Jose paving the way to his to return to EPL this season.

“We’re not closing the door on Simon coming back,” Doyle said. “In the meantime it would be nice to see how John likes us and we how we like him.”

The Earthquakes have been looking for someone to replace Dawkins’ skills but with the season starting March 3 their options were limited.

“There are more options out there,” Doyle said. “We’re being thorough in looking at them. We’re making sure we make the right decisions on who comes in. If we don’t bring in John or Simon we still have a good team.”

Bostock, once one of England’s most promising players, will travel with the Quakes this weekend to Portland for three more preseason games.

He was the youngest player to start for Crystal Palace at 15 and was captain of England’s under-17 national team. But Bostock has not fulfilled that early promise having been loaned by the Spurs four times in five years.

Tottenham likes the idea of sending the player to coach Frank Yallop, who helped turn around Dawkins’ career. Yallop also has helped produced four U.S. national team players in Steven Beitashour, Alan Gordon, Justin Morrow and Chris Wondolowski.

Attakora gives San Jose depth in a central defense led by Honduran international Victor Bernardez and Jason Hernandez. He came to the Quakes in 2011 in a midseason trade with Toronto FC but didn’t return last year while playing in Finland.

“We kept in contact with Nana and kept a good relationship with him,” Doyle said. “We always thought he was a good player. It was a little disappointing he wasn’t here for a while.”

Sam Garza led San Jose with two goals Tuesday while Dutch trialist Vincent Weijl, a one-time Liverpool FC reserve, also scored. He played this season for second division Dutch club SC Cambuur before leaving in January. Dutch defender Jermano Lo Fo Sang also played for the Quakes.

Contact Elliott Almond at 408-920-5865 and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/elliottalmond.