Cheye Christian Alexander (born 6 January 1995) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

right-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. Born in England, he plays for the Saint Lucia national team. A former West Ham United Academy graduate, he spent the 2013–14 season with

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in . Vale are the only English Football League club not to be named after a place; their name being a reference to the valley o ...

, though he only played first-team games during a

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that d ...

spell at

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

. He had brief spells with

Concord Rangers Concord Rangers Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Canvey Island in Essex, England. The club currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Thames Road ...

and

Bishop's Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated po ...

before joining Aldershot Town, initially on a non-

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...

basis, in March 2015. He remained with the club for over three seasons, playing 146 games in league and cup competitions. He was signed by

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) * Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; an ...

in June 2018 and spent two seasons with the club before he returned to the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

following a six-year absence after signing with

AFC Wimbledon AFC Wimbledon is an English professional Association football, football club, based in London Borough of Merton, Merton, London, that plays in the EFL League Two, after being relegated from the EFL League One following the 2021–22 EFL Leagu ...

. He spent two seasons with Wimbledon and signed with Gillingham in July 2022.

Club career

Early career

Alexander was born in Newham and supported his local team West Ham United as a child. He joined their academy in 2003, remaining there for ten years before being released as an 18-year-old in summer 2013. He was diagnosed with Osgood–Schlatter disease, which causes knee pain but gave him a growth spurt during his last year as a schoolboy. This meant that he had to play through the pain during the 2011–12 season, and though he managed to join the under-18 team during the 2012–13 season, he was not given a professional

by the club. He instead signed a one-year deal with

but did not make any first-team appearances for the "Valiants". On 13 December 2013, he joined

Northern Premier League The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...

Premier Division side

on a one-month

deal. Vale

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Micky Adams confirmed that Alexander would not be offered a new contract in April 2014. On 5 September 2014, he signed with

Conference South The National League South, formerly Conference South, is one of the second divisions of the National League in England, immediately below the top division National League. Along with National League North, it is in the second level of the N ...

side

. He made his debut for the club in a 2–0 win over Weston-super-Mare on 1 November and played a total of three games for the "Beach Boys". On 28 November 2014, he joined fellow Conference South club

. He played two games for the "Blues", one each in the league and

FA Trophy The Football Association Challenge Trophy, commonly known as the FA Trophy, is a men's football knockout cup competition run by and named after the English Football Association and competed for primarily by semi-professional teams. The compet ...

Aldershot Town

Alexander joined Aldershot Town on a non-contract basis on 3 March 2015. He made his club debut in a 1–1 draw with

Braintree Town Braintree Town Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in Braintree, Essex, England. They are currently members of and play at Cressing Road. History The club was formed on 24 September 1898 as Manor Works, the works team o ...

on 11 April and played three further

Conference Premier The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profess ...

games by the end of the 2014–15 season. He signed a one-year contract with the "Shots" in June 2015. Manager Barry Smith said that "he's got all of the attributes of a full-back and he’ll play in the style that I want to play". He scored his first career goal on 22 August 2015, in a 4–0 win at Guiseley. He scored two goals in 50 appearances across the 2015–16 campaign. He signed a new one-year contract in June 2016, with manager

Gary Waddock Gary Patrick Waddock ( ; born 17 March 1962) is a former professional footballer. He is assistant head coach of Cambridge United. A former midfielder, he spent most of his career playing for Queens Park Rangers and Luton Town. He also had stin ...

commenting that he felt he could improve the player further. He made 45 appearances during the 2016–17 season, scoring one goal, as Aldershot qualified for the play-offs with a fifth-place finish. However, they were beaten 5–2 on

aggregate Aggregate or aggregates may refer to: Computing and mathematics * collection of objects that are bound together by a root entity, otherwise known as an aggregate root. The aggregate root guarantees the consistency of changes being made within the ...

by Tranmere Rovers in the play-off semi-finals. On 19 August 2017, he scored from out at Boreham Wood but claimed it meant nothing to him as the team lost the game 2–1. He ended the 2017–18 season with two goals in 45 games, with Aldershot again claiming a play-off spot with a fifth-place finish. However, this time, they lost a penalty shoot-out to

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 from ...

after their play-off quarter-final game ended in a 1–1 draw at the Recreation Ground. He was released by his own request in May 2018. Upon his departure from the club he said that "I feel I have improved as a player and I’ve learned so much at Aldershot.... it's an amazing club that’s become a big part of my life".

Barnet

On 26 June 2018, Alexander joined

on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee, with "Bees" manager

John Still John Still (c. 1543 – 26 February 1607/1608) was Master of two Cambridge colleges and then, from 1593, Bishop of Bath and Wells. He enjoyed considerable fame as an English preacher and disputant. He was formerly reputed to be the author of an ...

admitting that he had tried to sign the player on previous occasions. He scored two goals from 53 appearances during the 2018–19 campaign as Barnet posted a 12th-place finish in the National League. He scored two goals in 42 games during the 2019–20 season, which ended early due to the

COVID-19 pandemic in England The COVID-19 pandemic was first confirmed to have spread to England with two cases among Chinese nationals staying in a hotel in York on 31 January 2020. The two main public bodies responsible for health in England are NHS England and Public ...

, with Barnet in the play-offs with a seventh-place finish. He turned down a short-term contract extension in June 2020 that would have kept him at

The Hive Stadium The Hive Stadium is a stadium in Canons Park, North London, on the former site of the Prince Edward Playing Fields in the London Borough of Harrow. The stadium is home to National League football club Barnet, London Bees of the FA Women's Cham ...

for the delayed play-off campaign after informing manager

Darren Currie Darren Paul Currie (born 29 November 1974) is an English former Association football, footballer who made over 600 appearances in The Football League. He is assistant head coach of Southend United F.C., Southend United. Club career Currie, who ...

that he had found a move to a club in the

AFC Wimbledon

On 23 July 2020, he returned to the Football League by signing for League One club

. Manager

Glyn Hodges Glyn Peter Hodges (born 30 April 1963) is a Welsh football coach and former professional player who is assistant manager at Bradford City. During his playing career he played for Wimbledon, Newcastle United, Watford, Crystal Palace, Sheffield Un ...

said that he had impressed the club's scouts and that he hoped to have found a "hidden gem in non league" as they found with left-back

Nesta Guinness-Walker Nesta Pierre Guinness-Walker (born 14 September 1999) is an English professional footballer who plays as a left back for Reading. Personal life He is the grandson of actor Matthew Guinness and the great-grandson of actor Sir Alec Guinness. He g ...

the previous year. He made his debut on 5 September, when he started an

EFL Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

tie away at

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club is a professional football club in the city of Oxford, England. The team plays in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The chairman is Grant Ferguson, the manager is Karl Robinson and th ...

. However, it was only when Mark Robinson succeeded Hodges as manager the following January that Alexander enjoyed a sustained run in the first-team. He made a total of 36 appearances in the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, helping the "Dons" to post a 19th-place finish in League One. He featured 25 times in the 2021–22

relegation In sports leagues, promotion and relegation is a process where teams are transferred between multiple divisions based on their performance for the completed season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are often called open leagues. ...

campaign, but was unable to play for incoming manager Mark Bowen after missing the end of the season with a groin injury. He was released in June 2022.

Gillingham

Alexander signed for

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Gillingham on 15 July 2022 on a one-year deal after impressing manager Neil Harris whilst on trial. He made his debut for the Kent side as a 67th-minute substitute on the opening day of the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season, in a 2–0 away loss to the team who had just released him, AFC Wimbledon. His first Gillingham goal came in the return fixture at Priestfield in February 2023, with his

volley Volley or Volly may refer to: People * Volly De Faut (1904–1973), American jazz reed player * Paul Volley (born 1971), English rugby union player Sports * Volley (association football), an air-borne strike in association football *In some rack ...

sealing a 2–1 victory over his former employers. He scored three goals in 48 games, making a sufficient number of appearances during the season to trigger an extension clause in his contract. His volleyed goal against

on 25 February won him the club's Goal of the Season award. On 29 January 2024, he departed the club, having had his contract terminated by mutual consent; this followed the signing of wing-back Remeao Hutton and the admission from head coach

Stephen Clemence Stephen Neal Clemence (born 31 March 1978) is an English football coach and former player, who made nearly 250 appearances in the Premier League and Football League playing as a midfielder. Clemence began his career with Tottenham Hotspur, wher ...

that he was struggling to keep his squad happy with the amount of game time he was able to offer them.

International career

Alexander played one game for the England C team, coming on as a substitute in an away win against Estonia U23 on 15 November 2016. In October 2023, he was called up to the Saint Lucia national team for a set of

2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League The 2023–24 CONCACAF Nations League is the third season of the CONCACAF Nations League, an international association football competition involving the men's national teams of the 41 member associations of CONCACAF. The group stage is being hel ...

matches. On 13 October 2023, Alexander made his debut and played the full 90 minutes for Saint Lucia in a 2–1 win over

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

Personal life

In 2016 Alexander set up his own brand, ''Christian Rose'', combining his name with that of his younger sister Rose.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Cheye 1995 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Newham People from Forest Gate Saint Lucian men's footballers Saint Lucia men's international footballers English men's footballers England men's semi-pro international footballers English people of Saint Lucian descent Black British sportsmen Men's association football fullbacks West Ham United F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players Ilkeston F.C. players Concord Rangers F.C. players Bishop's Stortford F.C. players Aldershot Town F.C. players Barnet F.C. players AFC Wimbledon players Gillingham F.C. players Northern Premier League players National League (English football) players English Football League players