<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"The Tottenham Hotspur centre-half is friendly with Rickie Lambert of Southampton and considering their current defensive predicaments Nigel Adkins must be ready to splash out on the former Spurs  team captain in January.He seemed set on a move to QPR this summer before it fell apart at the last minute but now the same man could be the answer to another side that have started the season in quite dire fashion. So could Michael Dawson be the answer to Southampton&amp;rsquo;s prayers? The mild-mannered centre-half has been on the periphery of the Tottenham Hotspur side this season as Andre Villas Boas seems to prefer the options of William Gallas, Steven Caulker, Younes Kaboul and Jan Vertonghen at the heart of Spurs&amp;rsquo; defence. Michael is of course a very talented centre-half and has earned four England caps in his career. Southampton reportedly pursued the talent when he was starring for Nottingham Forest and at 28-years-old and an experienced Premier League operator he would be needed at Southampton. Southampton&amp;rsquo;s season reads like a train-wreck but considering the difficult teams they have faced it isn&amp;rsquo;t all bad not to mention the fact they have in fact played well throughout the season. The losses to Manchester United and City were extremely unfortunate and defensive errors and goalkeeping frailties have also scuppered the positivity of Nigel Adkins attacking play so far this term. Jose Fonte and Jos Hooiveld have both struggled with the step up to the Premier League while Maya Yoshida has not quite been the saving grace many fans hoped he would have been. So a move for Michael Dawson seems like a very good deal for Southampton who must have some money available considering the haste in which they produced the goods to purchase Gaston Ramirez from Genoa. Regardless of whether Dawson is the target or not a new centre-back at St Marys seems to be an absolute must if they are to avoid going down playing exciting attacking football this season. Are there any other options out there? Simon Kjaer is a very talented centre-half who possesses magnificent passing ability for such a position and he could be a brilliant addition on the south-coast. Considering his current position at Wolfsburg he may be available at a reasonable price. However the Danish international is just 23-years-old without any Premier League experience which is not what Southampton will desire considering their current predicament. It must be a consideration at least that Michael Dawson is a very viable and potentially season changing option at the back for Southampton. Whether he wants to move to Southampton is another question considering he is adamant he can regain his place in the Spurs line-up; however in January that picture may be slightly different. So should Southampton go all out for Michael Dawson in January? image: &amp;copy; ingythewingy"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2012/10/29/mn-southampton-simply-have-to-pursue-michael-dawson-in-january/>