Despite having a good start to his duties with the Simba club, striker Lionel Ateba has a job ahead of him to ensure that he does not let down the Simba bosses who had to complete his registration in injury time before the window closed
Ateba, a citizen of Cameroon, has landed at Simba from the club USM Alger, which he joined in the small registration window in January 2024
He landed in Msimbazi to replace Freddy Michael Koublang who a bilateral agreement between him and Simba was reached and terminated his contract
The goal he scored in a friendly game against Al Hilal on Saturday, has given Simba fans a glimpse of what they expect to witness from him
Simba head coach Fadlu Davids has said that Ateba is the right striker he needed, however he has asked the fans to give him time to get used to his colleagues
"Ateba is a good striker, he scored a good goal in the match against Al Hilal, but he still has work to do as he has just joined us, he will need time"
"It is important for the fans not to put him under a lot of pressure, I believe that when he is in the same balance with his teammates, he will do bigger things," said Fadlu
Simba's attacking line is now led by three attackers where, along with Ateba, the others are Valentino Mashaka and Steven Mukwala
Mashaka is the leading scorer in the NBC premier league with two goals while Mukwala has one goal