Reports in England claim Frank Lampard beat off a late bid from Portuguese coaching legend Vitor Pereira to land the Chelsea job.

According to The Sun, Pereira, now at Shanghai SIPG, emerged as the only serious rival to Lampard when Chelsea whittled their shortlist down to two.

Lampard overcame the last remaining competition because of his connections to the club as one of their legendary figures.

Former Porto and Fenerbahce chief Pereira, 50, has won titles in Portugal, Greece and China during a varied coaching career.

Yet he only played football at amateur level and quit aged 28.

He was sounded out by Chelsea, but ultimately he could not compete with Lampard’s history and association with the club.

Former England midfielder Lamps, 41, won the Champions League, three Premier League titles and the FA Cup four times during 13 glorious years at the Bridge, also notching a club-record 147 goals.