diff --git a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
index db831832c9..1a641ac0f2 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProvider.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 import io.netty.resolver.AddressResolverGroup;
 import reactor.core.Disposable;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Mono;
+import reactor.core.scheduler.Schedulers;
 import reactor.netty.Connection;
 import reactor.netty.ConnectionObserver;
 import reactor.netty.ReactorNetty;
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
@@ -449,6 +451,7 @@ class ConnectionPoolSpec<SPEC extends ConnectionPoolSpec<SPEC>> implements Suppl
 		boolean  metricsEnabled;
 		String   leasingStrategy        = DEFAULT_POOL_LEASING_STRATEGY;
 		Supplier<? extends ConnectionProvider.MeterRegistrar> registrar;
+		BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> pendingAcquireTimer;
 		AllocationStrategy<?> allocationStrategy;
 
 		/**
@@ -473,6 +476,7 @@ private ConnectionPoolSpec() {
 			this.metricsEnabled = copy.metricsEnabled;
 			this.leasingStrategy = copy.leasingStrategy;
 			this.registrar = copy.registrar;
+			this.pendingAcquireTimer = copy.pendingAcquireTimer;
 			this.allocationStrategy = copy.allocationStrategy;
 		}
 
@@ -648,6 +652,43 @@ public final SPEC evictInBackground(Duration evictionInterval) {
 			return get();
 		}
 
+		/**
+		 * Set the option to use for configuring {@link ConnectionProvider} pending acquire timer.
+		 * The pending acquire timer must be specified as a function which is used to schedule a pending acquire timeout
+		 * when there is no idle connection and no new connection can be created currently.
+		 * The function takes as argument a {@link Duration} which is the one configured by {@link #pendingAcquireTimeout(Duration)}.
+		 * <p>
+		 * Use this function if you want to specify your own implementation for scheduling pending acquire timers.
+		 *
+		 * <p> Default to {@link Schedulers#parallel()}.
+		 *
+		 * <p>Examples using Netty HashedWheelTimer implementation:</p>
+		 * <pre>
+		 * {@code
+		 * final static HashedWheelTimer wheel = new HashedWheelTimer(10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, 1024);
+		 *
+		 * HttpClient client = HttpClient.create(
+		 *     ConnectionProvider.builder("myprovider")
+		 *         .pendingAcquireTimeout(Duration.ofMillis(10000))
+		 *         .pendingAcquireTimer((r, d) -> {
+		 *             Timeout t = wheel.newTimeout(timeout -> r.run(), d.toMillis(), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+		 *             return () -> t.cancel();
+		 *         })
+		 *         .build());
+		 * }
+		 * </pre>
+		 *
+		 * @param pendingAcquireTimer the function to apply when scheduling pending acquire timers
+		 * @return {@literal this}
+		 * @throws NullPointerException if pendingAcquireTimer is null
+		 * @since 1.0.20
+		 * @see #pendingAcquireTimeout(Duration)
+		 */
+		public final SPEC pendingAcquireTimer(BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> pendingAcquireTimer) {
+			this.pendingAcquireTimer = Objects.requireNonNull(pendingAcquireTimer, "pendingAcquireTimer");
+			return get();
+		}
+
 		/**
 		 * Limits in how many connections can be allocated and managed by the pool are driven by the
 		 * provided {@link AllocationStrategy}. This is a customization escape hatch that replaces the last
diff --git a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/PooledConnectionProvider.java b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/PooledConnectionProvider.java
index e065c4f268..d010a9af64 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/PooledConnectionProvider.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-core/src/main/java/reactor/netty/resources/PooledConnectionProvider.java
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentHashMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.ConcurrentMap;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.function.BiPredicate;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
@@ -369,6 +370,7 @@ protected static final class PoolFactory<T extends Connection> {
 		final Supplier<? extends MeterRegistrar> registrar;
 		final Clock clock;
 		final Duration disposeTimeout;
+		final BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> pendingAcquireTimer;
 		final AllocationStrategy<?> allocationStrategy;
 
 		PoolFactory(ConnectionPoolSpec<?> conf, Duration disposeTimeout) {
@@ -389,6 +391,7 @@ protected static final class PoolFactory<T extends Connection> {
 			this.registrar = conf.registrar;
 			this.clock = clock;
 			this.disposeTimeout = disposeTimeout;
+			this.pendingAcquireTimer = conf.pendingAcquireTimer;
 			this.allocationStrategy = conf.allocationStrategy;
 		}
 
@@ -447,6 +450,10 @@ PoolBuilder<T, PoolConfig<T>> newPoolInternal(
 				}
 			}
 
+			if (pendingAcquireTimer != null) {
+				poolBuilder = poolBuilder.pendingAcquireTimer(pendingAcquireTimer);
+			}
+
 			if (clock != null) {
 				poolBuilder = poolBuilder.clock(clock);
 			}
diff --git a/reactor-netty-core/src/test/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProviderTest.java b/reactor-netty-core/src/test/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProviderTest.java
index 64802ac61a..ffc289b3a5 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-core/src/test/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProviderTest.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-core/src/test/java/reactor/netty/resources/ConnectionProviderTest.java
@@ -16,12 +16,14 @@
 package reactor.netty.resources;
 
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import reactor.core.Disposable;
 
 import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.lang.reflect.Modifier;
 import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
@@ -31,6 +33,7 @@ class ConnectionProviderTest {
 	static final TestAllocationStrategy TEST_ALLOCATION_STRATEGY = new TestAllocationStrategy();
 	static final String TEST_STRING = "";
 	static final Supplier<ConnectionProvider.MeterRegistrar> TEST_SUPPLIER = () -> (a, b, c, d) -> {};
+	static final BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> TEST_BI_FUNCTION = (r, duration) -> () -> {};
 
 	@Test
 	void testBuilderCopyConstructor() throws IllegalAccessException {
@@ -74,6 +77,9 @@ else if (boolean.class == clazz) {
 		else if (int.class == clazz) {
 			field.setInt(builder, 1);
 		}
+		else if (BiFunction.class == clazz) {
+			field.set(builder, TEST_BI_FUNCTION);
+		}
 		else {
 			throw new IllegalArgumentException("Unknown field type " + clazz);
 		}
diff --git a/reactor-netty-http/src/main/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2Pool.java b/reactor-netty-http/src/main/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2Pool.java
index 11f5b639b4..733a0078c5 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-http/src/main/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2Pool.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-http/src/main/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2Pool.java
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@
 import reactor.core.Scannable;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Mono;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Operators;
-import reactor.core.scheduler.Schedulers;
 import reactor.netty.Connection;
 import reactor.netty.FutureMono;
 import reactor.netty.NettyPipeline;
@@ -759,7 +758,7 @@ public void request(long n) {
 				int permits = pool.poolConfig.allocationStrategy().estimatePermitCount();
 				int pending = pool.pendingSize;
 				if (!acquireTimeout.isZero() && permits + estimateStreamsCount <= pending) {
-					timeoutTask = Schedulers.parallel().schedule(this, acquireTimeout.toMillis(), TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS);
+					timeoutTask = pool.poolConfig.pendingAcquireTimer().apply(this, acquireTimeout);
 				}
 				pool.doAcquire(this);
 			}
@@ -1042,4 +1041,4 @@ long lifeTime() {
 			return pool.clock.millis() - creationTimestamp;
 		}
 	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}
diff --git a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/Http2Tests.java b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/Http2Tests.java
index 59b77318a4..ebd06044da 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/Http2Tests.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/Http2Tests.java
@@ -21,9 +21,11 @@
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeAll;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.reactivestreams.Publisher;
+import reactor.core.Disposable;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Flux;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Mono;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Signal;
+import reactor.core.scheduler.Schedulers;
 import reactor.netty.BaseHttpTest;
 import reactor.netty.ByteBufFlux;
 import reactor.netty.ByteBufMono;
@@ -43,6 +45,7 @@
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicBoolean;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicInteger;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.function.Predicate;
 import java.util.stream.IntStream;
 
@@ -159,14 +162,35 @@ private void doTestIssue1071(int length, String expectedResponse, int expectedCo
 
 	@Test
 	void testMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool() throws Exception {
-		ConnectionProvider provider =
+		doTestMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool(null);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void testMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool_Custom_AcquireTimer() throws Exception {
+		CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+		BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> timer = (r, d) -> {
+			Runnable wrapped = () -> {
+				r.run();
+				latch.countDown();
+			};
+			return Schedulers.single().schedule(wrapped, d.toNanos(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
+		};
+		doTestMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool(timer);
+		assertThat(latch.await(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)).isTrue();
+	}
+
+	void doTestMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool(BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> pendingAcquireTimer) throws Exception {
+		ConnectionProvider.Builder builder =
 				ConnectionProvider.builder("testMaxActiveStreams_1_CustomPool")
-				                  .maxConnections(1)
-				                  .pendingAcquireTimeout(Duration.ofMillis(10)) // the default is 45s
-				                  .build();
+						.maxConnections(1)
+						.pendingAcquireTimeout(Duration.ofMillis(10)); // the default is 45s
+		if (pendingAcquireTimer != null) {
+			builder = builder.pendingAcquireTimer(pendingAcquireTimer);
+		}
+		ConnectionProvider provider = builder.build();
 		doTestMaxActiveStreams(HttpClient.create(provider), 1, 1, 1);
 		provider.disposeLater()
-		        .block();
+				.block();
 	}
 
 	@Test
diff --git a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2PoolTest.java b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2PoolTest.java
index 6780f795c2..25f99f4ff4 100644
--- a/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2PoolTest.java
+++ b/reactor-netty-http/src/test/java/reactor/netty/http/client/Http2PoolTest.java
@@ -22,8 +22,10 @@
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http2.Http2FrameCodecBuilder;
 import io.netty.handler.codec.http2.Http2MultiplexHandler;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import reactor.core.Disposable;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Flux;
 import reactor.core.publisher.Mono;
+import reactor.core.scheduler.Schedulers;
 import reactor.netty.Connection;
 import reactor.netty.internal.shaded.reactor.pool.PoolAcquireTimeoutException;
 import reactor.netty.internal.shaded.reactor.pool.PoolBuilder;
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@
 import java.util.Random;
 import java.util.concurrent.CountDownLatch;
 import java.util.concurrent.TimeUnit;
+import java.util.function.BiFunction;
 import java.util.concurrent.atomic.AtomicReference;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
@@ -832,6 +835,24 @@ void maxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsNotReached() throws Exception {
 
 	@Test
 	void maxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReached() throws Exception {
+		doMaxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReached(null);
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void maxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReachedWithCustomTimer() throws Exception {
+		CountDownLatch latch = new CountDownLatch(1);
+		BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> timer = (r, d) -> {
+			Runnable wrapped = () -> {
+				r.run();
+				latch.countDown();
+			};
+			return Schedulers.single().schedule(wrapped, d.toNanos(), TimeUnit.NANOSECONDS);
+		};
+		doMaxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReached(timer);
+		assertThat(latch.await(10, TimeUnit.SECONDS)).isTrue();
+	}
+
+	private void doMaxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReached(BiFunction<Runnable, Duration, Disposable> pendingAcquireTimer) throws Exception {
 		PoolBuilder<Connection, PoolConfig<Connection>> poolBuilder =
 				PoolBuilder.from(Mono.fromSupplier(() -> {
 				               Channel channel = new EmbeddedChannel(
@@ -842,6 +863,9 @@ void maxLifeTimeMaxConnectionsReached() throws Exception {
 				           .idleResourceReuseLruOrder()
 				           .maxPendingAcquireUnbounded()
 				           .sizeBetween(0, 1);
+		if (pendingAcquireTimer != null) {
+			poolBuilder = poolBuilder.pendingAcquireTimer(pendingAcquireTimer);
+		}
 		Http2Pool http2Pool = poolBuilder.build(config -> new Http2Pool(config, null, -1, 10));
 
 		Connection connection = null;