Broken nails, say, producing criticism (8)
I believe the answer is:
analysis
'criticism' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'broken nails say' is the wordplay.
'broken' indicates anagramming the letters.
'nails'+'say'='nailssay'
'nailssay' anagrammed gives 'ANALYSIS'.
'producing' is the link.
(Other definitions for analysis that I've seen before include "Examination to determine component parts" , "Detailed investigation" , "Detailed breakdown" , "Investigation of the component parts which make up the whole" , "Determination" .)