Chelsea considered hiring experienced Portuguese coach Vitor Pereira before pushing through a deal for Derby County manager Frank Lampard.
Pereira, now at Shanghai SIPG, emerged as the only serious rival to Lampard when Chelsea whittled their shortlist down to two, says The Sun.
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.