Everton have activated their option to extend the contract of midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure by 12 months.

It represents quite a turnaround in four months for the Mali international who, in the latter days of Frank Lampard’s reign, was training away from the first-team squad after a disagreement with the then Toffees boss.

Having been brought back into the fold when Sean Dyche was appointed in late January, the 30-year-old has scored four goals – ending a drought dating back to September 2021 – in his last nine games, including two in the crucial 5-1 win at Brighton earlier this month.

“Everton can confirm the club has activated the option to extend Abdoulaye Doucoure’s contract until the end of June 2024,” read a club statement.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 23.

Allan Saint-Maximin celebrated.

As did Kieran Trippier.

And the whole of Newcastle.

Flashback to when Alan Shearer had some hair.

Patrice Evra voiced his support for Vinicius Junior.

A post shared by Patrice Evra (@patrice.evra)

James Anderson had a chuckle at Joe Root’s tweet.

Virat Kohli said RCB should be proud of their efforts this season.

Michael Vaughan was back in Mumbai.

Sir Ian Botham reflected on a great week in Spain.

Sergio Garcia celebrated.

McLaren turned the clock back.

Then and now.

Rob Burrow was up for an award.

A post shared by Rob & Lindsey (@rob7lindsey)

Good morning, Usain Bolt.

Sale Sharks have tapped into Sir Alex Ferguson’s revered motivational powers ahead of the Gallagher Premiership final against Saracens.

The former Manchester United manager visited Sale’s Carrington training base on Tuesday, where he addressed the squad.

Ferguson oversaw two Champions League triumphs and 13 Premier League title successes during a remarkable and lengthy spell as United boss.

And the 81-year-old Scot became Sale’s latest keynote contributor after rugby league great Jamie Peacock spoke to the players ahead of their play-off victory over Leicester earlier this month.

Sale have reached their first Premiership final since 2006, when they won the title at Tigers’ expense and were inspired by the likes of Jason Robinson, Charlie Hodgson and Sebastien Chabal.

Saracens now await at Twickenham on Saturday, with the highest-placed teams following the regular Premiership season going head-to-head.

Asked how Ferguson’s visit materialised, Sale rugby director Alex Sanderson joked: “We’ve got a special Man United red phone like the bat phone in the corner of the office for emergencies.

“No, I got a call from Ged (Sale part-owner Ged Mason) asking about it and it fell into place. They are good friends with a shared investment with racehorses.

“We thought we would try and wring a little bit of gold out of Sir Alex – and he didn’t disappoint.

“He had the lads on the edge of their seats and he came up with some real good bits of advice – not new stuff, but when it comes from Sir Alex’s mouth, it is gospel, isn’t it?

“It is small percentages of what you can add, an increased feeling of how special this week is. It was good to have him in and good to have him in our corner.”

Sale centre Manu Tuilagi had already been inspired by Ferguson ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, when he was invited by then England boss Eddie Jones to speak with the squad.

Tuilagi said: “It was amazing seeing him again. We met him in 2019 just before the World Cup. He is a legend of the world.

“He said a few words and gave us some wisdom to take into the weekend. He has been at the top of his game, he knows what he is doing.

“You learn from people like that who have been there and done it.”

And Sale number eight Jono Ross, who plays his final game before retirement on Saturday, added: “Obviously a few of us – including myself – are very much in awe of Sir Alex, but he is a fantastic man and it was really nice just to take little bits and bobs off him.

“It is pretty special when someone of that magnitude walks into the building and as you can expect, the boys were glued to his every word.

“He achieved so much within the game and the way he speaks, you turn your head and listen.

“Sir Alex spoke about a few things that worked for him. He said he definitely remembers the losses more than the wins, so don’t lose, basically!”

Sale captain Ben Curry, meanwhile, was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday after suffering a serious hamstring injury during the play-off game.

“He should be back in time for the start of the World Cup, but that’s being fit,” Sanderson said.

“He would have done all of the prep and none of the lead-in, so it would be wholly on (England head coach) Steve Borthwick’s shoulders to see fit whether or not he is worthy of being included.

“He (Curry) has been very much involved – he’s been getting good luck messages in from Man United players. He has been upbeat, despite the fact he might miss the World Cup and he will miss the (Premiership) final.”

Ross County manager Malky Mackay reminded his players they were still in control of their own destiny despite a late, late blow at Motherwell.

County will be safe from relegation if they win their last two cinch Premiership games, at home to St Johnstone on Wednesday and away to basement rivals Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Mackay was frustrated by VAR decisions after his side saw a penalty award rescinded and then got a handball decision against them following an intervention from Clydesdale House that allowed Kevin Van Veen to net deep into stoppage-time at Fir Park.

County were edging out of the danger zone at the time but now go into the final two games a point behind Killie.

Mackay said: “It’s still in our hands. I said to the players at Motherwell how proud I was of them.

“We could have made better decisions on the ball but there was no quarter given or asked – it was a terrific game of football considering the scoreline right up to the 102nd minute.

“Decisions have happened and my players kept their cool.

“We’ve now got to dust ourselves down because we’ve got St Johnstone in Dingwall which is one that we look forward to.

“The boys are together. They’ve been great. Other than the anomaly of the Hearts game, they’ve been great over the last six weeks.

“Anyone who has seen us – the Celtic game, the win at St Johnstone, the Aberdeen game and how close that was, then beating Livingston and Dundee United and a close game at Motherwell – we have a group that is really at it considering where we are in the league.

“You just hope that a bit of the fortune turns for us. But you can’t rely on luck – you have to go and make your own.”

Kevin van Veen has his sights firmly set on reaching the 30-goal mark and securing seventh place for Motherwell in the cinch Premiership.

The Dutchman took his season tally to 27 by scoring the winner against Ross County on Saturday, finding the net in a ninth consecutive game, a post-war record for Motherwell.

The striker has more milestones in his grasp.

Van Veen will equal a club record set by local hero Hugh Ferguson more than 100 years ago if he scores in his 10th match in row when Motherwell face Livingston on Wednesday night.

The 31-year-old is still in the running for the Premiership top goalscorer, sitting on 23, two behind Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi along with Hearts skipper Lawrence Shankland.

The former Scunthorpe striker is also looking to become the first Motherwell player since Dixie Deans to score 30 goals or more in a season, the future Celtic player doing so in 1968-69 when the Steelmen were in the Second Division. The last Motherwell player to do it in a top-flight campaign was Joe McBride five years earlier.

Van Veen has always believed he could challenge that landmark.

“I think it was 19 or 20, and I said to the same media in this room ‘I am going to score another 10 more’,” he said. “Everyone thought ‘this guy is off his head’.

“Now I am three away from what I set and we have two games to go. I am still stuck to my word. I have not reached it yet but I do believe in myself and in the team to get six points from these two games.

“The way we are feeling, 30 is within my reach and six points are in our reach. I am very confident I can hit my personal levels in what I said I was going to do, and the team as well, to get to the top of the bottom six. It is all there for us to take.”

With all the goals Van Veen has been scoring, his celebrations have become more varied. He marked his recent goal against Kilmarnock by pretending to go to sleep and told the wider world his girlfriend was pregnant by putting the ball under his shirt and sucking his thumb against St Johnstone.

“When I score I just do something weird or impulsive,” he said. “It’s not like I have a book with all my celebrations.

“I just do something weird. I am just a weird guy sometimes.

“Like the one (when) I fell asleep against Kilmarnock, I don’t know why I did that. It just came up. I thought, I have got tired of scoring all these goals, I will have a nap. No, that’s a joke. I don’t have any celebrations planned.”

Joao Almeida edged out Geraint Thomas to claim victory on stage 16 of the Giro d’Italia on a summit finish as the Welshman moved back into the Maglia Rosa leader’s jersey.

Following Monday’s rest day, racing resumed over a tough 203-kilometre mountain course from Sabbio Chiese to Monte Bondone.

A group of around 25 riders had made an initial breakaway from the front of the peloton as the course headed on to the category three climb of Passo Bordala.

Jumbo-Visma continued to push at the front of the peloton, with Ineos-Grenadiers’ Pavel Sivakov later dropped on the Matassone ascent where Astana duo Vadim Pronskiy and Christian Scaroni launched an attack.

With around 52km left of stage 16, the front pair were caught by the chasing group, which held a lead of just over four minutes over the peloton approaching the final climb of the day on Monte Bondone.

As the pace was picked up, the breakaway were again reeled in as Almeida and Thomas made their move along with Jumbo-Visma’s Sepp Kuss and Primoz Roglic in the general classification group.

Heading into the last 4.5km, Thomas launched his own attack as he and Almeida dropped their rivals.

It was Portuguese rider Almeida, though, who had the most left in the tank to sprint clear in the final 150 metres to claim victory for UAE Team Emirates and pick up maximum bonus seconds.

Slovenian Roglic finished third, which saw him drop 25 seconds in the GC standings, ahead of Ireland’s Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AIUla), who moved up to fifth overall as a result.

Bruno Armirail (Groupama–FDJ) saw his hopes of retaining the Maglia Rosa fade as he dropped back heading into the final 10km.

Thomas now has an 18-second lead over Almeida, with Roglic third, now 29 seconds off the pace.

However, Ineos Grenadiers confirmed Sivakov had followed Tao Geoghegan Hart and Filippo Ganna in dropping out of the race after failing to shake off the impact of a crash during a wet 11th stage.

“It was a very tough day, a lot of climbs, I am happy with how it went. I found myself in front with Almeida, he was better in the sprint,” said Thomas.

“It would have been nice to win the stage, but I had to keep riding – didn’t want to be caught playing cat and mouse with Joao with Roglic behind.

“It is nice to be back in pink and gain some time, but it’s obviously not great to lose a team-mate (Sivakov).”

Almeida hailed his maiden Giro stage victory as a “dream come true”.

He said: “I was feeling well and the whole team was extraordinary. I try to improve day by day to become the best version of myself.”

Wednesday’s 17th stage will be a flat 195km course from Pergine Valsugana to Caorle.

Steven MacLean has assured relegation-threatened Kilmarnock and Dundee United that there is no chance of St Johnstone taking it easy when they visit Ross County on Wednesday.

Saints can no longer finish in the bottom two of the cinch Premiership but their interim boss knows 10th-placed Killie and 12th-placed United will have a vested interest in how the 11th-placed Staggies get on.

MacLean insists his side have no intention of slackening off in a match that could have a big bearing on how the relegation battle unfolds.

“We’ve got a duty to everybody,” he said. “We want to go there and win for our fans, for ourselves and also for the other teams in the league.

“We’ll be going up there to be positive, like I want to be in every game, and we’ll be trying to win the game.”

MacLean has steered Saints to safety with two wins and a draw in his four games since stepping up to replace Callum Davidson.

“I’m delighted with the players,” he said. “I challenged them to stay up and they’ve done it with two games to spare, which is very good.

“They’ve shown a great attitude and been very good for me. But we’ve still got two games to go and we want to win them both. We’re concentrating on Ross County just now and then we’ll take care of the Livingston game on Sunday.”

MacLean has challenged Cammy Ballantyne to try to establish himself at Saints after the 23-year-old midfielder, who has spent the majority of his senior career with the Perth club out on loan at Montrose, finally made his first start against Kilmarnock on Saturday.

“I was delighted for him,” said MacLean. “I thought his performance was excellent. His energy levels were great and he showed a bit of quality as well.

“If selected against Ross County, hopefully he can back it up. It’s up to him now. We gave him an opportunity to play on Saturday and he took that opportunity well.

“It’s up to him to go and make his mark now and try to make himself a regular in the first team.”

Jack Draper continued his impressive comeback from injury by beating Miomir Kecmanovic to move into the quarter-finals of the Lyon Open.

The world number 53 reeled off four frames in a row to clinch the first set then grabbed the decisive break in the second to secure a 6-4 7-5 win over the Serbian.

Draper, who had eased past Alexandre Muller in the opening round, had missed the recent Masters Series events in Rome and Madrid due to an abdominal injury.

The 21-year-old, who will play Francisco Cerundolo in the last eight, told atptour.com: “I am really happy. I have played two really high-level players and I feel that my game is in a good place, especially after having a few weeks off with injury.”

Barry Robson told his Aberdeen side to “go and grab” third place in the cinch Premiership as they prepare for the visit of St Mirren on Wednesday night.

The 2-1 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle at the weekend reduced the gap between the third-placed Dons and the Jambos to just two points with two fixtures remaining.

A win over the Buddies coupled with a Hearts failure to beat Rangers at Ibrox would guarantee Aberdeen a third-place finish before they travel to Celtic Park on Saturday.

“The message has been clear to them,” said Robson who will have Graeme Shinnie back from suspension, with Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes and Ross McCrorie back in training.

“I said that today when we were doing our match prep.

“I said ‘this is down to you, this is how you have performed and you have given yourself an unbelievable opportunity when everyone wrote you off and remember that. It’s in your hands now so go and grab it’.”

The defeat at Tynecastle followed a goalless draw at home to Hibernian and a 2-0 defeat by Rangers at Ibrox but Robson stressed the quality of performance.

He said: “Recent performances have been good. Down at Rangers, we were outstanding.

“We could have come away with the victory. Hibs at home, it was a difficult game, Hibs really going at it.

“We had three or four players missing against Hearts down there and the boys stayed in the fight.

“I thought we were really good in the first 20 minutes. So I have been really pleased. Performances have been good.”

Saints put in an impressive performance in the 2-2 draw with champions Celtic at Parkhead on Saturday but Robson is hoping home advantage will count.

He said: “St Mirren have not changed their system all season.

“They played the way they play, they pressed the way they press, they are well-organised and they know exactly what they are doing.

“It’s always a difficult game – no matter if you play them at home or away.

“Obviously we have our weapons that we like to use against them and hopefully we can do that well.

“We have had good preparation for the game and it is a game we are looking forward to.

“We have our fans behind us, Pittodrie has been bouncing for the last two months. It has been so good.

“It is the busiest I have seen it in a long time and the players have really taken the fans with them and the fans have helped the players perform, so hopefully we get that again tomorrow.”

Jack Davison will train Thunderbear “like a good horse” having seen him produce a career best in the Lacken Stakes at Naas.

Before finishing just over a length fourth with his sights raised on Sunday, the son of Kodi Bear had been campaigning in handicap company and was sent off an unfancied 50-1 for the Group Three contest despite scoring with real ease when last sighted on a raiding mission to Nottingham.

However, he outran his odds in the manner of a rapidly improving sprinter and his performance was not missed by the Irish handicapper, who has subsequently raised the three-year-old 9lb to a mark of 107.

Davison has previously enjoyed big sprint success with Mooneista, who is now trained by Joseph O’Brien, and is excited to see how far up the ladder Thunderbear can climb having finished so close to the well-regarded The Antarctic at Naas.

“It was a super run and he’s a progressive horse who is rated 107 now,” said the trainer.

“I’m really happy with him and he’s going to be a good horse for me now this year.

“He’s one of the best three-year-olds in the country over that distance now and I think there is more improvement there. He is a nice one to have in the stable this year and I’ll train him like a good horse. We’ll pick his battles a little bit and hopefully that will pay off.

“We’ve got plenty of options over six and seven furlongs, I just have to have a good think about where we go next.

“He has that much pace he could be effective over a stiff five and he’s ground versatile, so we have plenty of options and we’re looking forward to seeing where he ends up.”

Having seen his official rating sky rocket on the back of his Naas performance, handicaps are now off the table and with the Jersey Stakes the only realistic option available at Royal Ascot, Davison is leaning towards targeting the Irish sprinting programme for the time being.

He continued: “His mark has gone now for any of the handicaps, but I always knew he was a Group horse in the making.

“Obviously, being a gelding, he can’t run in the Commonwealth Cup. The Jersey Stakes is a possibility, but I would say it is likely we will stay domestic for the next couple of months.”

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has told his players they will be a success story for the second year running if they avoid the drop as he prepares for a major relegation battle at Tannadice.

Killie sit 10th in the cinch Premiership and there are multiple connotations ahead of their clash with bottom club Dundee United on Wednesday night.

The Ayrshire side could potentially relegate their opponents, make themselves safe, remain in a three-way battle to avoid the drop and the play-offs, or even find themselves bottom after the game.

McInnes led Killie to the Championship title last season after hauling back long-time leaders Arbroath and clinching the trophy in a head-to-head battle with their rivals at Rugby Park, and Wednesday’s encounter has a similar vibe.

“For weeks going into the last game of the season last year, we still weren’t odds-on to win the title,” he said. “It was Arbroath’s league and we still had it all to do.

“We are arguably maybe in a worse position than we were then and the prize is the same. We don’t get a trophy for staying in the league but the prize is being a Premiership team next season.

“We have tried to reinforce that to the players – that we can still succeed in what we set out to do this season.

“There’s been a lot of disappointment and frustration and I’m not going to try and dress that up, but we can still succeed in what we intended to do and that’s important we work towards that.”

McInnes accepts that nerves could play their part at Tannadice.

“I think it’s natural for that,” the former Aberdeen manager said. “There is always pressure when you are involved in football and I want to be there to help my players limit those nerves and just go and play the game.

“That can be difficult because everyone is well aware of the situation but it’s the same for all the teams round about us.

“We have played teams who maybe didn’t have quite the same pressure and now we are playing teams who have the same anxieties, fears and responsibility.

“We feel that responsibility and it’s my job and the staff’s job to try and allay those nerves and just deal with the game and concentrate more on the performance.

“There’s loads of different ways you can do that. You try and give confidence anyway. It’s our job as a staff to give confidence to the players.

“Equally it’s difficult to shut out the noise and the situation we are in. You wouldn’t want to. We are in a serious situation, as all the teams are.

“But we just want them to concentrate on trying to play without fear, play with courage and confidence.”

Kieran Cotter is looking forward to taking on the colts with Matilda Picotte when his 1000 Guineas third drops back to six furlongs at Haydock on Saturday.

The daughter of Sioux Nation had never raced over further than seven furlongs before striding out onto the Rowley Mile for the opening fillies’ Classic of the year, but gave a fine account when attempting to make all and kept on gamely for a spot on the podium.

Now she will drop back to the distance both her career victories have come at for the Betfred Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes where the opposition could include the likes of Aidan O’Brien’s Little Big Bear and last year’s Coventry Stakes winner Bradsell.

The outcome of her trip to Lancashire could determine whether Matilda Picotte then takes up her entry in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot or has another crack at seven furlongs in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville in early July.

“We’re the only filly in the race, but she has taken them (colts and geldings) on before,” said Cotter.

“I know we get 3lb, which is probably not a whole lot, but we don’t see anything there to be totally afraid of. Of course we respect them but we’re not afraid of them.

“She has proper six furlong pace so we’ll just see where the land lies with her before the decision has to be made whether she goes for the Commonwealth Cup or not as she could go for the Prix Jean Prat in France.”

Reflecting on Matilda Picotte’s 1000 Guineas endeavours, Cotter was thrilled with how his charge once again was able to outrun her odds to mix it with the very best.

He added: “The mile at Newmarket is probably the only mile we would have run her over. She had form at the track and we knew she would handle it very well.

“Not a lot of people know this, but the fillies race was almost four seconds faster than the colts and her time for the mile was faster than the winner of the 2000 Guineas the day before. Her second furlong was I think 11 seconds so she did phenomenally well to hold on for third.

“She’s competed at the highest level of company throughout her career and has acquitted herself exceptionally well every single time.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson faces their biggest game of the season with no experienced strikers available after Curtis Main picked up a knock at Celtic.

Main hit the post after netting a double in St Mirren’s 2-2 draw against the champions but is a doubt for Wednesday’s trip to face one of his former clubs, Aberdeen.

Tony Watt and Jonah Ayunga were already ruled out for the season while Alex Greive is struggling with a niggle and was not expected to feature again.

Lewis Jamieson, 21, and 19-year-old Kieran Offord could be in line to make their first Premiership starts of the season.

“Curtis Main has not trained since the game,” Saints manager Robinson said. “He has taken a knock but he had an X-ray and there is no break, but he is unlikely to train.

“I think he likes scoring against Aberdeen, he enjoyed his goals the last time, so he will do everything in his power to be fit.

“Alex Greive is with the physio running. We are just going to have to assess those two at the last minute.

“We have no senior fit strikers. We have young LJ and Kieran, who are very, very good young players, who may have to come into the fold, depending on where we are. We will have a session in the morning and see where we are.

“I have no qualms in throwing the two young boys in. As much as I want our senior strikers fit, especially after Curtis’s performance on Saturday, we will go with real belief whoever is in the team.”

Saints have been disappointed to lose leads against Hearts and Celtic in their last two matches but are only two points behind Hibernian with two games left in the battle for fifth and a possible European place.

Robinson is backing his side to play without fear and believes all the pressure is on Barry Robson’s Aberdeen following their defeat by Hearts on Saturday.

“We over-thought it at Hibs as a group, not to get beat, and didn’t play with our usual fluency, we didn’t press with our usual fluency, and we have just put that to bed,” he said.

“We spoke as a group and backed what we do: pressing teams how and when we want to press them, and getting on the ball and playing, and enjoying the occasion.

“We are under no pressure whatsoever. Nobody expected us to be here. Everyone expects Aberdeen to be third, everybody expects a fight between them and Hearts and Hibs.

“We shouldn’t be there in people’s eyes but we are, deservedly. We go there with no pressure but a real appetite to get a result.

“Barry’s done a tremendous job there but the expectations at Aberdeen are they should be in the top three.

“So that’s the pressures they have to live with. We will go there with a free mind and an energy to match them, because we will need to as they are a very good side.

“There can’t be any fear. We have everything to gain and Aberdeen have everything to lose.”