Roberto De Zerbi has shed light on the decision to leave Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr out of Tottenham’s pre-season tour to New Zealand and Australia.Spurs have taken a 35-man squad Down Under for pre-season, as they get set to face Auckland FC, Sydney FC and Chelsea over the next week in New Zealand and Australia.While it was not a surprise to see Tottenham’s World Cup semifinalists and injured players left out of the tour, there were a couple of interesting absentees.Neither Bentancur nor Sarr were part of the travelling group, even though Uruguay got knocked out in the group stage of the World Cup while the latter hardly featured for Senegal.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRoberto De Zerbi says Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Sarr are ‘crucial players’ for TottenhamIn their announcement, Spurs had said that the midfield pair had been granted ‘extended leave’ following their appearances at the World Cup.However, their omissions have led to many fans wondering if the pair could be put up for sale, especially given that the Lilywhites have strengthened in the middle of the park, but De Zerbi has dismissed that possibility.When asked why Bentancur and Sarr have not made the trip, he told Football.London: “Bentancur is a crucial player for us, and Pape Sarr, the same. I spoke after the World Cup with players and for every one of them we take different ways.“Bentancur asked me for one week more because he suffered a very tough season last season, and Pape Sarr has a personal problem, and he asked me for one week more. But nothing, no problem, nothing more than I said.”De Zerbi makes promise to Spurs’ young gunsTottenham have taken a lot of their academy players on their pre-season tour, with many of them having a chance to catch the eye of De Zerbi and his coaching staff.The Spurs head coach has made it clear that age will not be a factor when he makes his selection decisions.When asked if the likes of Luca Williams-Barnett and others have a great opportunity in the upcoming friendlies, De Zerbi said: “I’m used to working with young players. I gave a lot of time and space in my career for young players, but they have to show me they are able to play and they are good players. I never start from the age of the players. From the qualities? Yes. From the attitude and behaviours? Yes. But not for the age.”READ MORE: Tottenham want to sign Real Madrid winger on loan but it could be a 14-horse raceThe post De Zerbi reveals why Bentancur and Pape Sarr are not on Tottenham tour appeared first on Spurs Web.