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Town Sign Dawkins on Short-Term Deal - Ipswich Town News

Town have signed former Tottenham, Derby and San Jose Earthquakes attacking midfielder Simon Dawkins on a short-term deal until the end of the season with the club having an option for a further year.

Dawkins, who was 31 last month, has been training with the club for five weeks, as TWTD revealed at the end of last month, and impressed as the U23s defeated their Bristol City counterparts 4-2 on Monday, a result that keeps them on top of the Professional Development League Two South table.

"This is a massive club and I want to do everything I can to help get it back to where it should be,” he told iFollow Ipswich.

"I've enjoyed my time here so far and the lads have been brilliant. Everybody is very much together and it’s probably one of the only dressing rooms I’ve been in where that is the case.

"Everyone gets along and we definitely have the foundations to get out of this situation.

"And new additions can give a club that lift and experience that it needs. Hopefully that’s what we need to turn the good performances into results.

"This is an opportunity for me as well. I like the manager and the style of football here and I’m looking forward to it.

"I’ve had a good five weeks training and played a game for the U23s on Monday so I’m ready to go when the gaffer needs me.”

The 19-cap Jamaican international, who will wear the Town number 49 shirt, was born in Edgware and joined the Tottenham academy, going out on loan to Leyton Orient, the Earthquakes, Aston Villa — where Town boss Paul Lambert was in charge at the time — and Derby while on the books at White Hart Lane.

Dawkins failed to make the breakthrough with Spurs and was sold to Derby for £500,000 five years ago before moving on a permanent basis to San Jose in January 2016.

He was close to joining Minnesota United before leaving the States in February last year and after time on trial at League One sides Charlton and Luton in the summer he failed to land a full-time deal at either club.

Missing out on target Anthony Pilkington — the 30-year-old Cardiff winger opted instead for Wigan Athletic for family reasons — saw Lambert turn his attention to Dawkins, who will go straight into the squad for Saturday’s home clash with Rotherham.

Meanwhile, Blues centre-back Luke Woolfenden is back training with the Blues squad at Playford Road this week with manager Paul Lambert taking his first look at the 20-year-old.

Woolfenden is on loan at Swindon for the season, although the Blues are able to cut the stint short in January. However, Lambert has previously played down the likelihood of youngsters such as Woolfenden and Josh Emmanuel, who is at Shrewsbury, being in his plans for the second half of the season.

Elsewhere, ex-Blue Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has joined Thai club PTT Rayong having been released by QPR at the end of last season.

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