Key events4h agoPreambleMartin Belam is primed for his stint. I shall be back for more fun later, do not worry.I would suggest that Tielemans is a sensible signing for United. He is an excellent player and a good price, which will free up funds to target elsewhere. United are on the hunt for a left-back, while the winger situation is complicated because Marcus Rashford is set to return to the club, as no one wants to sign him permanently.Jamie JacksonManchester United are closing in on the signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa after their move for Atalanta midfielder Ederson stalled.Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, is in advanced talks with Villa regarding a financial package for Tielemans. The is thought to have a £35m release clause in his contract, which has two years remaining.Tielemans has considerable Premier League experience having joined Leicester City in 2019 before moving to Villa four years later. Youri TielemansOn a completely unrelated note … where I am in Manchester (or thereabouts) the whole place reeks of smoke thanks to wildfires. It is quite a surreal experience and has been going on for almost 24 hours.Paul gets in touch to say: “It won’t happen, but 32 teams is plenty. There aren’t 48 good national teams, let alone 64. Yes it’s good for teams like Cape Verde to get a chance but this is supposed to be elite sport and having three weeks of the likes of North Korea v Jordan before any of the top teams play each other will get old pretty quickly.“This will be heresy but I actually prefer watching the Euros to the World Cup as there is generally less of a spread in talent, although going from 16 teams to 24 has messed up the group stage there too.”Krishnamoorthy emails: “Irangate, Refereegate, Cablegate, Egyptgate, the All-encompassing Giannigate!!!“Not a single match seems free of a controversy or a conspiracy. Give me Hand of God any day.”Give it a couple of days …Who are you backing to win the Golden Boot?Reece James is happy to have beaten the clock and recovered from his injury just as England enter the business stage of the World Cup.The Chelsea captain returned as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway, having missed three games with a hamstring problem picked up in the second group fixture against Ghana.James came on as a central midfielder before switching to his usual right-back position as two Jude Bellingham goals sent England through to a semi-final date with holders Argentina on Wednesday.“It’s good to be back out there with the boys,” he told Lions Den. “Picking up an injury at a tournament is always a race against the clock. I applied myself and happy to be back out there.”Despite not being at their best throughout the tournament, Thomas Tuchel’s side have found a way to get past each hurdle, but one of the biggest awaits in the next round.England versus Argentina is a fixture rich in history, but James thinks they will be able to cope with the occasion. “It comes with experience. The higher stakes the game is, the more pressure,” he added. “We’ve been doing it for years, the fundamentals are the same, but the prize is slightly different.“We’re in a bubble, trying to complete our mission. It’s hard to see the outside. We’re happy we’re making everyone at home proud. This is what dreams are made of. Everyone as a little boy dreamt of playing and winning a World Cup. We’re against one of the best nations in the semi-final.” PA MediaReece JamesRob Draper