Reportedly, pull top thing for protecting a boot (6)
I believe the answer is:
toecap
'thing for protecting a boot' is the definition.
(part of a boot protecting the wearer's toes)
'reportedly pull top' is the wordplay.
'reportedly' indicates a 'sounds like' (homophone) clue.
'pull' becomes 'tow' (tow is a kind of pull).
'top' becomes 'cap' (synonyms).
'tow' sounds like 'toe'.
'toe'+'cap'='TOECAP'
(Other definitions for toecap that I've seen before include "part of Oxford, perhaps" , "piece of footwear" , "Reinforced part of shoe or boot" , "Boot reinforcement" , "Boot's metal end" .)