SAN JOSE — Earthquakes midfielder Simon Dawkins finally has settled into the Bay Area — as much as a professional soccer player on loan from England can.

He rents a house in Santa Clara after living in a hotel last year. Dawkins, 24, has a girlfriend.

But as the magical season hits the final months, starting with Sunday’s match against Chivas USA at Buck Shaw Stadium, Dawkins is looking for something more permanent in his future.

“I don’t want to go on loan anymore,” he said. “I want to be signed somewhere and play.”

He’d welcome the chance to stay in San Jose, where Dawkins has played the past two seasons in a loan deal with the Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League.

The Quakes want the skilled winger as much as he wants to stay. But professional soccer is driven by finances and Major League Soccer doesn’t have the same level of spending as the big European clubs such as Tottenham.

“I love it here,” Dawkins said. “It is not in my hands.”

General manager John Doyle and coach Frank Yallop thought so much of Dawkins that they traveled to London in the winter to work out a deal to get him back in 2012.

In the deal the Earthquakes pay Dawkins $50,000 in salary according to MLS Players Union records. The midfielder said his accommodations are paid for as part of his contract with Tottenham. That contract expires in 2013 with an option year the player expects to get picked up.

In the meantime, Yallop said it is “decision time” with the attacking midfielder.

“We’re pushing and trying to do everything we can to keep him, to buy him,” Doyle said. “At some point, it becomes down to money. Big money to us and big money to them are two different things.”

Dawkins is in an unenviable position as a highly skilled MLS player whose rights are owned elsewhere. For whatever reasons, he hasn’t made inroads in Europe since joining Tottenham’s youth academy at age 16.

In 2010 Dawkins tried out with Celtic of the Scottish Premier League and AFC Bournemouth of England’s League One. In January he auditioned with Dutch pro club FC Twente.

But San Jose is where the midfielder has thrived. Playing behind the league’s most potent offensive front Dawkins has scored four goals in the past seven games.

With eight regular-season games left he has matched last season’s total of six goals. Although Dawkins is credited with one assist, teammates appreciate how much he has transformed the offense.

“I consider him the best player on our team,” said forward Alan Gordon, who is enjoying a career season. “Simon is a different class. He does so much for us to keep the ball.”

Dawkins came to San Jose in 2011 as a work-in-progress.

Tottenham officials saw his potential but the oft-injured player couldn’t break into the lineup of one of EPL’s best clubs. He spent 2008 and 09 on loan with east London side Leyton Orient of League One.

Dawkins appeared in 26 games last season and has played in 22 this year. He hopes those numbers in a physical league will boost his value.

His ability to stay healthy this season is impressive considering the player didn’t get a break after the MLS season. Dawkins returned to Tottenham and began training with the Spurs immediately.

“I’m not sure it was a good thing or bad thing,” he said. “I just got used to my body and know when it needs to stop. I know I am tired but this is what I love to do.”

Dawkins understands that his time in San Jose could end soon. The regular season concludes in October and the Quakes hope for a good playoff run through November.

If he can’t return in 2013, Dawkins will leave San Jose feeling good.

“Even where we are right now is an achievement,” he said.

The Earthquakes play Chivas USA in back-to-back MLS matches, including Sept. 15 at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Chivas is in seventh place in the Western Conference with 27 points. The club has scored seven fewer goals than any MLS team with 17 in 23 games this season. But the Quakes don’t expect their next two league matches to be easy. Since re-entering MLS in 2008, San Jose is 1-6-2 against Chivas USA. The Quakes’ only victory against the L.A. club came in October 2010. “I just think it’s what time of the season we meet them, or maybe they have some players that are thorns in our side,” Yallop said of Chivas’ dominance. “We’re a different team this year, so are they. You can’t look back on the last five years. It’s kind of irrelevant.”

The Quakes have no plans to rest players once they officially clinch a playoff spot. “If we clinch a spot, our next goal is winning the whole thing,” Yallop said of getting the Supporters Shield. “We want to keep momentum right through the season. Hopefully in December we can take the foot off then.”

Yallop dismissed the perception that 10,500-seat Buck Shaw Stadium has a small pitch, thus giving the home team a distinct advantage. “By the way, it’s 115 yards by 74 wide,” he said. “Everyone says it is a tiny pitch. It’s average size. It’s not a tiny, little field.”