Lautaro Navarro

The penalty that settled the 2024 Campeonato Uruguayo Sub-16 final against Nacional fell to Lautaro Navarro, captain and top scorer of the Defensor Sporting side that won it. Months later he was in the squad that took the Sub-17 title as well, and by the end of his time in the youth ranks he had become the all-time leading scorer in the history of Defensor Sporting's youth divisions.

There has been no transfer and no loan; his contract runs to 31 July 2027.

The step up came quickly in 2025. Navarro was handed his senior debut in the Copa Libertadores in February, and made his first appearance in the Primera División the following month. His first professional goal arrived in September, in a Copa AUF Uruguay tie against Oriental. Defensor Sporting's run in that competition ended in the semi-finals, against Peñarol.

Uruguay called him up at youth level: three caps with the U-15s and three with the U-16s at the 2024 South American U-15 Championship in Bolivia. He was named in the squad for the 2024 South American U-17 Championship but did not play in the tournament. In 2025 he added a single appearance for the U-18s, in an international friendly.