Nairobi City Stars head coach Nicholas Muyoti has welcomed the return of centerback Salim ‘Shittu’ Abdala.
Shittu returns to Simba wa Nairobi eight months after leaving the club to pursue other interests. He will be the go-to man when the Kenyan Premier League second leg starts next month.
“Shittu’s maturity, experience and leadership will help to stabilise our defence. We are happy to have him back,” Muyoti said of the the 6ft 2 inch defender.
Shittu said: “City Stars has always been my home. I am glad to be back for a second time and ready to give my all come the second leg. It’s like I never left.”
Team coordinator Samson Otieno said Abdalla will steady the team’s leaking defence, which has conceded 22 goals in 16 matches.
“Salim Abdala is back at Nairobi City Stars to add solidity to our backline ahead of the second leg. His return was necessitated by key injuries to two centrebacks Timothy Muganda and Edwin Buliba, who have struggled with injuries sustained during the lengthy pre-season that ended in November 2022 forcing the coach to have a makeshift defence," said Otieno.
“With the two defenders out, we were forced to plug in defensive midfielder Ronney Kola to hold forte for the better part of the first leg.”
Shittu joined Simba wa Nairobi in July 2019 and played a big role in getting the team promoted to the Kenyan Premier League at the end of the 2019-20 National Super League (NSL) season.
He topped up on his initial one-year contract and exited the club in June 2022 after featuring in 45 of 68 Premier League games, scoring thrice across two seasons.
